After The End of All
by alythia
Summary: An end of all battles, and the start of Knives' life of captivity in space. With the life of his dying brother in his hands, what course of action will Knives take? Mangaverse:till ch96. a definitely unexpected ending
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Dun even _wanna_ own it. I couldn't draw a _smexy_ Knives like Nightow could. Tee he hee. : P

Spoilers: All of mangaverse till Trigun Maximum episode 94. Huge, I mean _HUGE_ spoilers from the manga. Though, I couldn't resist taking bits of suitable animeverse (like Vash's left arm, spiders and butterflies, and other little stuffs) into this story. X3

A/N: This fic is _totally_ from **Knives' POV**. Some OOC-ness should be predicted, as I want dis story to be full of angst. And that ain't sumthin easy to do from _Knives_**'** point of view, mind you. You may even see **Knives** as bein too mushy, but I _really_ believe he **absolutely _adores_** **his** dear **brother **(a.k.a. suffers from a chronic _brother complex_. XD). Wanna hear out my reasons? **Jump to** this fic's **Chapter 5 and read the Author's Note**. _(smiles)_

Oh, this fic _will_ have a _lot_ of ranting from Knives, and there will be a character that I believe most can't even predict will walk into this fic. May I introduce to you... (_SLICE!)_

_(Knives stomps the decapitated author repeatedly in the guts) _"Do. _(stomp) _You. _(stomp) _Wanna. (_stomp) _Ruin. _(stomp) _This. _(stomp) _Story. _(stomp) _You. (_stomp) MANIAC? _"_ (stomp) (stomp) (stomp) _

_(Vash steps in, pulling away his frenzied brother from the bloody author.) (Vash smiles his shiny grin as he faces the readers, while patting on a sulking, snuggling Knives' back.) _"Ah, as Knives tried to say, it'll be too much of a spoiler. And, err ... that _person_... will only get into this story around the second episode. So please bear with my brother ranting about for now– Hey, Knives! Stop nibbling on my earring!"

_(Knives retracts his teeth, and sulks again, hugging even closer onto a still-smiling-albeit-the-fact-that-he-was-cuffing-Knives-upside-his-head Vash, if _that_ is ever possible with the lack of space between them...)_

"I just don't like her. She is happily bullying the both of us throughout this story. Most importantly, she is happily bullying YOU throughout this story. I don't like it. I don't like it, AT ALL." _(With that statement, Knives glares darkly at the author, while still attached to his sighing-and-already-given-up-to-his-twin's-overprotective-nature brother; NOT a very convincing act from the author's P.O.V... Not that she'd give that little detail the slip of her bloody tongue as a que for the freaky-and-snappy-brother-complex-for-a-psycho Knives to start chopping her already bloody body into bloody bits of unknown bloody matters...)_

_(The still bleeding author sweatdrops, raising a crooked bloody hand, waving it)_

Err... may we start with the story then...?

A/N (2): _February 20th, 2007_: **Revised** **the chapter**. And man, how many bloody _mistakes_ could I make in this relatively bloody short chappie..? TvT

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After The End of All

**Part 1**

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I have lost track of time.

The human ships from Earth managed to stop me from my rampage. From annihilating the filthy human spiders that my dear brother loved so much. And even more surprisingly, they somehow were able to separate me from the bonds – or cointegration, as the Earthen dubbed it – of the rest of my Plant sisters.

I thought it was impossible. I was ready to sacrifice all to get the Eden I've desired. Even my own body, even my own brother... but still they spared me from death.

It didn't stop there.

They locked me up in a mechanized coffin... somewhere. My best guess? In one of the Earthlings' spaceships. They wouldn't dare keep someone who was capable to bring genocide to human somewhere _near_ human settlements, would they? I was left defeated after the final battle; powerless, with no means to attack, and was very sure that either my brother or one of his foul humans would end my life. Surprise, surprise. In my last few moments of awareness, I could barely discern my brother _begging_ to the spiders to spare me. _Me_: a suicidal murderer of all human species. _Thanks_ to him, I was now strapped in my cold tomb, which was slowly treating me back to health. Notice the sarcasm?

So here I stay, in the total darkness of my coffin, unable to activate any of my powers. It may be the damned coffin that suppressed the powers of Plants. Hell, they lashed me up so well in here, I couldn't even twitch a muscle. I could hear nothing; except the soft humming of machineries, and my own breathing that could scarcely be heard though the face mask that have been a permanent ornament on my face. I couldn't even determine how long I've been here; alone in this fucking shadow of a metal sarcophagus.

In this distasteful situation, the only thing I could do was _think_.

When I first regained my awareness, I was enraged for the fact that they kept me immobile in some godforsaken _box_. Standing straight up, but securely bounded onto the wall behind me. Arms spread on either side of my body, with needles attached to my forearms. I felt like I was put into some kind of metal cross of sorts. Fuming as I couldn't _move_. I was screaming for release, demanding to anyone out there to let me go. But at time goes by, with no reaction or changes whatsoever, I gradually lowered the volume of my shouting. Now, I barely even used my voice anymore. I couldn't even remember when the last time I even uttered a syllable was.

Then, I started thinking of a way to free myself. I tried everything I could think of; straining myself of the binds on my body, trying to use my powers ...everything. But the damned coffin was able to withstand every effort I put in. I was left _extremely_ exhausted after every tries. I suppose the human civilization on Earth was much more advanced than that of Gunsmoke when it came to technologies involved in controlling and manipulating the powers of Plants.

As I begun to comprehend the very slight possibility of me escaping this hellhole –after a few months of number-crunching, the exact possibility was 0.07642, and I don't play with losing games– I started to seriously think of _Vash_.

Vashu... my dear twin brother. The liberation of Plants from humans was to create Eden for him. For us. For our sisters. But especially, for him.

My sweet, innocent Vashu. He didn't want to grasp the nature of what the filth was doing to him. Constantly yearning for contact with humans, he left me and sided with _them_. Even willing to _sacrifice_ himself for the sake of humanity. But how did the insects repay him? By labeling him as the Humanoid Typhoon, a hazard; someone who was able to destroy a town to oblivion in mere hours, with a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Vash the Stampede. For the sake of got that is in Me, he couldn't even hurt a fly! He'd rather leave a portion of his food to the little fly, just to let it live! Couldn't they see that? No. They'd rather get rid of anything that they thought will bring them harm first, and _then_ think of the consequences; when the harm only comes in the form of their own kind. Always selfish. My poor brother was more than happy to be at their service; to make them happy. And by spreading his "Love and Peace" philosophy all around Gunsmoke with that silly crossed-fingers sign, he hoped that all humans could live at total peace. What bullshit.

But his adamant stand to his naive believes was what makes him beautiful. And cute.

I silently chuckled at the thought.

But then, what have happened to him? I could still recall: the total blackness of his hair. 'The darkness of decay,' I once told him. Not a wisp of the striking blond that I used to love so much. Even his soft aqua jade irises turned into a ferocious tone of magenta. I understood the fact that I may have lost my brother. Even though I could accept his death at my hands, should it be by cointegrating with me or by the cuts of my Angel Blades, I couldn't let him die by any other means. Yes, that did appear to be selfish for me to do so. But by dying in my arms, a part of him will always be with me. I'd rather have a breathing, living brother to talk to, to take care of, to tease... to pour all my heart to. But he had left me with no more choice. I've tried every means possible to make him come back to my side, but he won't relent. He loved the humans far too much; those vermin he has taken as companions for more almost a century; even when they were the source of his distress, his long suffering, the scars on his body-- _everything_ that tainted his beauty. I was exhausted of other alternatives. I wanted to create Eden for him to spare him from all those pain. But with him shoving his constant human contraption –commonly known as a gun– to my face every time we meet, I painfully concluded that I could never get my brother back. Even so, I could not let him suffer even more than he did. I care for him too much for that.

Thus, here I was, alone in my coffin, persistent thoughts of what has happened, and what _could_ happen continuously plaguing my mind. 'What ifs...' has been a constant companion whenever I start thinking of Vash.

"What if Vash have never left me? Wouldn't it be good?"...Naah. As I have stated before, he loved humans to damn much to side with me and join me in my sacred mission to purge humankind.

"What if he's still alive out there, happy for the fact that he managed to save the lives of both humanity and his brother?" He would be very, very happy then. Of that was what I was _very_ sure. But if everything went the way he wants, I believe I would end up living with him peacefully, in a community full of those _spiders_. Not that I'd tolerate even the _thought_ of residing near to a human settlement. My initial thoughts were that I'd rather stay in this metal tomb of mine. But after long, I grasp the fact that I missed him, longed for him, as so much as _pining_ for him. I kept thinking that if I ever could turn back time, there was a possibility that I may lower myself to put up with human scum, and go and live with him in _his_ human community, as long as I could see that sweet smile of his. Not those hollow, painful ones that he threw around hazardously for everyone to see. It was that honest, gorgeous smile he used to wear when we were children. Those innocent and bright grins that didn't understand the meaning of pain, of hurting; so full of life...

"What if Vash was already dead?"

No... no... I could never let myself think of that. If he died, what was the purpose of _me_ being _alive_? Especially tied and bound in this impossibly cold coffin, not knowing until when I would live; when I could just _die_. Plants are basically almost immortal, as long as we don't abuse the limits of our power or sustain lethal injuries particularly in the head. We could live for centuries long.

I used to love the fact that Plants are undying. However, now I preferred otherwise.

Everything I did was for Vash. _Everything_.

If he was dead, what was I doing all I did for?

'Why make him suffer then?' It was to teach him a lesson. _Never fuck with his elders_. In particular, _me_. Forget the fact that we never knew who was the older of the two of us, but I have always seen myself as Vash's caretaker; the _eldest_ of us twins. It would make him think twice about not listening to my advices, or leaving me behind to go with those humans-be-damned of his _ever again_. Not to forget, it was also as revenge for that one shot he made at me back then, before I cut off his left arm.

'Why force him to do what he didn't want? By forcing him to kill?' To turn his back to his believes that we should never kill, by making him murder another?' It was to open his eyes to the fact that humans are powerless to us 'Free-Borns'. Couldn't he see? We are superior to them insects. We are the savior of our kind. An epitome of disaster to humans. The leaders of liberation of the Plants. We were to rule the world, making it our Eden, and live the rest of out lives happily ever after, with our sisters providing for us

Therefore, I planned for the total annihilation of human. To create the Eden he so deserved. Just for his sake.

"But... what if he's not alive anymore?"

Then immortality is a curse. I couldn't even comprehend my life without him. Without a purpose to live. Even if I won our battle of humanity and killed him in the process, I believed that by creating Eden, my brother would be at ease, as his sisters are all safe and secured in the blissful Eden. Then, I'd join him 'on the other side'; if there ever was one. I simply couldn't live without him. That was all.

At this kind of thoughts, I have considered suicide. However, being put in this vessel, which somehow heals every injury in my body continuously, I couldn't even have the grace to kill myself. Once or twice, I gnawed on my tongue until it was almost separated from my body, to let myself die of loss of blood. But being blessed with the superhuman healing ability of Plants and the fact that my coffin was constantly healing me, my tongue was healed and fixed back in its place in no time.

It was driving me insane.

Nevertheless, I kept thinking, "Vash wouldn't like it if I died along with him, right? He'd like it better if I just live as long as I could, helping the human as the way he did, right?"

'Fuck you, Vash! I couldn't do that! I just couldn't! You know it!'

"But you want him to always be happy, right?"

'That's right. I'd do anything. Everything. I've always done so, and I would always do.'

"You'd do anything?"

'Yes...'

"Really?"

'_YES!_ Fuck damn it, _yes!'_

"Then would you save him?"

... 'What in the...?'

I was beginning to realize, that I was having a monologue while referring to myself as a second person. Was I going insane...? That... that would be... good... I think... Denial was good...

"Knives, your brother... would you want to save him?"

But wait... Since when did my thoughts consist of a female voice? And what was this 'save my brother' thing...?

"If you'd agree to spare humankind, and not to associate yourself in harming of humans in any way possible, either physically, psychologically, or both, we will let you out of the Recuperation Chamber, which you are residing in right now."

Huh? What...?

"...You must help us save your brother."

Vash?

Save Vash...? Which means... he's still alive? That's a good thing, right? _Right_?

'But, what's wrong with him?'

"We will explain everything later. But first, we want to show you something."

A collective of lights was forming in front of me in a rectangular shape. It has the eerie resemblance to that of the holograms back from the Seed ships... My irises throbbed in union from the brightness of the suspended holo-screen. I haven't been exposed to light for how-would-I-knows how long... My eyes blinked repeatedly, and it took some time for me to adjust.

When I got used to the glaring light, I focused my attention to the 3-D hologram.

And I screamed.

Like I've never screamed before.

_Please... no... not again..._

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE. _

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: BAH! Humbag... (my Grouch-y way to say "not interested")

Spoilers: Read the previous part. Dun need any repeatin', no?

A/N: Huuuuarrrrgghhhh-- Huh... _(scratches head)_ Sawh-rey for dat. Got dis exam. Just finished. Now need sleep... Zzzzzzzzz...

_(Vash picks up the drooling author from her seat in front of her computer, and tenderly tucks her in bed.) (Knives, who is left to sulk by himself, sulks even more horrendously.) (Vash smiles at Knives, mouthing something.) (Knives at last stops sulking, but his left eye is still twitching in impatience.)_

_(Vash faces the readers, smiling pleasantly.)_

"Enjoy your reading, 'kay?"

_(With that Vash walks away and his flaming red coat whips along dramatically, with Knives in toe; reattaching himself back onto his brother. And the earring.)_

"Oi! Get offa me-! _Kniiiives--!_"

_(The author twitches from scary dreams, restless; muttering under her breath about getting less than 3.0...)_

A/N (2): _February 20th, 2007_: **Revised** **the chapter** a little, with **added details on Knives' new suit**.

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After The End of All

**Part 2**

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"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!"**

"Stop struggling, Knives! You're only going to hurt yourself!"

"HHHUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

"CALM DOWN, KNIVES!! For the love of--! Where is that switch!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRHHHH!!!!"

_VASH!!_

_Pishu_.

"**AAH**... Ahh... Ugh... Haa...Haa..."

"It was a tranquilizer. Pardon us for we have to take that measure. Please, calm down."

How...

How... am I to calm down... when he was... he was... in...

THAT.

Shown in the hologram was a cylinder, maybe four meters high. Filled completely with transparent blood-like fluid, wires and wires of tubes of different colors were all tangled and centered on a single embodiment in the tank.

On Vash.

He was suspended in the middle of the cylinder-like vessel. Numerous tubes and wires were attached on his body, focusing on his forearms, neck and left chest.

His serene face seemed peaceful. Even with the tubes inserted into his mouth and nose, he looked like he was only sleeping. Peacefully sleeping...

He looked so much like Tessla...

'No... No... _Not again!_'

As my mind was still muddled up by the injection made to the back of my neck, the female voice started to speak out again, "I did not envision that you would react like that. You did tried to kill him, after all...You are quite unpredictable, Knives."

Shut your trap and tell me _what the hell is going on_!!

"I'm sorry to say that Vash's situation is very critical. As you can observe, his hair has turned one-hundred percent jade black, with no trace of blond whatsoever. His body is degrading gradually, to a point where we can't let him out of the cylinder for long without him convulsing with severe rejection attacks to the medications we are currently giving him. Those supply tubes attached to his body are the only thing that kept his biological activities going. Nano-machines were inserted into him to heal his body from inside, while the Gouhfon's bio-stabilizer solution is working to further mend his body, and to avoid repercussions resulting from his treatment. We managed to salvage and reattach his left arm from one of your followers. The one with sky-blue hair; Legato was his name...?"

'Legato...'

Hmpt. At least in death, he proved to be useful to me.

"Experts of human and Plant medical and research fields from both Earth and Gunsmoke have already tried their best to restore Vash's body until this point. But after several long months of failed attempts to revive him from his coma, we've come to a point where we can no longer help him in his recuperation. There is nothing we could do for him anymore."

'What...? No... _no_...'

"However, there is another way to save him..."

'How!? '

"We have detected the main source of his degradation: his Seed. After exhausting the maximum level of output, even when his reserves were all used up, his Gate won't close. Rather than releasing power, it has an effect of a counter-flow. In other words, it is absorbing energy from the body of its host to regain the energy lost. All the ATPs generated by his cells are all soaked up by his Gate, with very little to spare in restoring his health. His body needs a very stable source; a constant inflow of energy from outside for his body to recover. And maybe after the inflow of energy is sufficient, his Gate will close. Just maybe. There is a 2.84 success ratio of recovering his Seed, and in turn save his life; as long as we can find a suitable source."

"This is the very first time we were to handle a case of this nature. We didn't know exactly what to do. At first, we tried using energies extracted from Plants. This has positive effects, but the changes were very subtle. His body at times rejected this treatment, as the energy flow did not synchronize with his. Even thought overall recovery is near to impossible, at least Vash's life can be lengthen for a few more weeks. We can only make do of what we have for now..."

"However, we are aware of one source that has complete energy synchronization with Vash; ever since we identified the problem which involves stabilization and synchronization of energy sources. We conducted repetitive assessments to confirm our suspicion. As a result, we have verified and confirmed it. There is only one way to save Vash now..."

'What is it!? Tell me!'

"Only one person can save him now."

"It's you, Knives."

... Ah.

"We performed a few tests on your energy flow for some time now. Even though your energy flow is still unbalanced, it is the only one that has almost complete harmony with Vash's. We already tried to forcibly extract more of your powers from your Gate, but forced extraction of your energy only de-stabilizes it, rendering it obsolete."

... I could see where this conversation was heading to...

"All the leaders of Gunsmoke almost anonymously agreed to take whatever course necessary to save Vash, even if it involves releasing you, their source of distress for so long..."

Can you hear that, Vashu? _Almost_. Not all of your beloved humans want you back, it seems. Even after all you went through to save them. _Pathetic humans..._ I silently snickered.

"It has been a very long and hard battle of wills and logic amongst the leaders of Gunsmoke, and between Gunsmoke and Earth. The best decision was just to use up the natural energy output of your body, supported with the energy from other Plants. But this method only manages to keep Vash from death, not helping in his recovery."

"So we are left with our last card. Letting you _willingly_ heal your brother by transferring your energy directly to his body."

'Hey. I did say that I'd do anything for him. So just LET. ME. GO!'

"But before releasing you, you must agree to our Terms and Regulations."

... I harrumphed. I should have seen this.

"Main Regulation Number One: Never do harm to any _Homo sapiens _–the human species–, or any living or non-living beings, in any form whatsoever; whether it'll be physical, psychological, or both."

'Yeah, yeah. I could see that.' I could even perceive my imaginary self waving a non-existent hand sarcastically.

"Main Regulation Number Two: Never try to hack into the main processors of this spaceship. You may have access to the computers from one point, only under supervision, as the primary purpose is to let you grasp the Vash's situation; the position he's in right now, and to assist your research for his cure. However, you may not try to sabotage the mainframe. If you ever try to, _dire_ consequences may come to your brother..."

Really...? Taking hostage of the one they claimed to be rescuing. That was so... _human_.

"There are more regulations that you must follow, but we cannot waste any more time. Your brother is in a very precarious state. We cannot be sure of how long we can keep him alive in that condition. He's on the very brink of death at this very moment."

'If that's so, then let me go.'

"We will release you. But, you must give us your oath; that you will not cause reparation of humans anymore."

'... Yes.'

"Do you agree to the regulations we put onto you? And the others that may, have and will be imposed onto you in the near future?"

'Yes, I do.'

"...We will keep you to your words. We will release you in a few moments. You may experience difficulty in moving your limbs; you haven't been using you muscle for some time. I will provide you with an automated itinerant chair to assist your mobility."

'I. Don't. Need. Some. Fucking. _WHEELCHAIR!!_'

"...Do you _want_ to waste more time in useless arguments? Vash is dying right now. You already realized that, don't you?"

'_Yes_. But I don't need some useless implement to _move_. Just let me go. I'll walk just fine.'

"...if you insist. But I will bring it with me, if you ever change your mind."

Vash's hologram faded out from in front of me. Closing my eyes tightly, I revived my erstwhile resolves.

Wait for me, Vash... This time, I _will_ save you...

"We will release you now. Be ready."

I felt the strange sensations of something –the needles, most probably– pulling out of my forearms and neck. The straps that binded me were slowly loosing its grip. I could move my fingers slightly my then. Somehow, I felt glad to still have them. At times I thought that those spiders may have decapitated me because I couldn't feel my arms, nor the rest of my body in the steel-like grip of the binds that held me in this cross-like tomb.

I started to shift my muscles a bit in the loosen straps. My body was experiencing soreness, and it felt very uncomfortable trying to move my long-unutilized muscles. After a few moments of analyzing, I perceived that I could manage to walk, if barely, after another 3.5643 minutes of self-induced rehabilitation exercise. It seemed that the Recuperation Chamber –or whatever they called this shit of a coffin– even prevents the degradation of muscle tissues, even after extended immobility. This was just so _kind_ of them. Shitty maggots.

I continued to twitch and stir around as the straps loosen even more, getting used to the sensation of moving limbs. I heard the sounds of a surface shifting in front of me. With a soft hum, my enclosure started to open, and bright light started to filter in from either of my sides. My eyes, which has gotten used to the soft glare of Vash's hologram, still ached from the intensity of the brightness.

My face mask was slowly removed from my face. The light was getting even brighter, and my eyelids were beginning to spasm uncontrollably, trying to withhold the light from injuring my irises. I could feel as the binds on my head, arms and legs were completely removed, leaving only those on my torso. I experimented more on my arms and legs. Especially legs. It would be near to impossible for me to start walking immediately after being released, but of their discharging process of me were to follow _my_ calculations, I knew that I could make do of my legs, nonetheless. _Never, ever accept the mercy of the humans_, the last remnants of my ego demanded of me.

My vessel opened completely, and I breathe in the air of freedom. In my haze –the tranquilizer was still working _wonders_ in my body– I barely made out the equipments around me; the humming and clicking of instruments that have kept me bounded and healed. I let my arms grip onto the left edge of the opening as the binds on my torso started to loosen even more. It slowly helped me onto my feet, which weren't truly ready to carry the weight of my body as of yet. I struggled to keep standing, and was scarcely able to do so with me leaning heavily onto the walls of my compartment. When the pain in my eyes was reduced to dull throbbing, I scanned the space around me.

It was a vast room, 56x42x20 I suppose; consisting of computers, machineries; everything that ensured that I was sealed indefinitely inside my enclosure, until now. Everything in sight was pearly white. The room was filled with bright light; I couldn't endure looking at it for long.

'Hm?' With me bending down, I realized that my hair has grown quite long, expanding to the length of my neck; maybe even longer... about quarter as long as it was when I revived back to health after that memorable event of July. My, did Vashu packed a shot back then... Positive that I wouldn't fall without an arm to support me, with one good hand, I brushed the shoulder-length locks off my eyes to the back of my ear. How long have I been locked in here...?

Also, I've noticed that I wasn't wearing the gear I donned on before the cointegration with my sisters. Instead, it was a white body-tight suit, extending from the base of my jaw to the tips of my toes. It fitted perfectly on the curves of my body; almost like the spacesuit I wore for the first few decades of my life on Gunsmoke, except for the fact that this one was all-white. I scrutinized the glove on my hand: the leather-like texture and striking white color of the clothing were to my liking, but the design was a little too simple for my grandeur taste. As I examined up my arm, I distinguished the numerous multihued filaments embroidered into the layers of the suit in a crisscross nature; they were shifting in colors as I stared at it, unmoving.

'Interesting.'

As I crooked my neck lower to observe more of this new outfit of mine, slightly curled strands of black and platinum blocked my view. My left eye twitched.

This elongated hair of minewas starting to _really_ annoy me, with it constantly falling on my eyes and hindering my sight. And in general, I could not tolerate _anything_ annoying.

Then, I noticed the door far opposite of my vessel opened. I cut short of my musings and focused my whole attention there; momentarily forgetting about my hair. I could make out a figure: a tall, mature woman, who seemed to be in her early twenties in human standards, with unyielding features, shoulder-length blond hair and sea-green eyes. She was pushing along a mobile chair with her. Trust her to execute her promise of bringing along that goddamned wheelchair.

But, in all, I did recognize her on the spot.

It was_ HER_. The damned woman of the Earth ship that attacked me... _interrupted_ me when I was in the process of giving Vash his so much earned freedom from humanity... his _death_. At that time, it was necessary. He was interrupting the creation of Eden. But now, with my dream of Eden already fallen down in ruins, I just wanted him by my side... no matter what the price.

"It appears that you already know who I am."

'Of course I know who you are. Stupid bitch nearly shot me to death.'

"I have very keen eyes."

My voice came out with very clear clarity; it even surprised _me_. Given, that my throat was still sore from yelling so hard eleven-point-two-three minutes ago.

She halted her approach when she was approximately five meters from where I was, with me still leaning onto my vessel. I crossed my arms on my chest with my back resting onto the outer walls of my vessel, which helped in supporting the weight of my upper body. It appeared that I could walk, just so, but nonetheless I kept myself composed in front of her.

I did notice one more particular detail about her, though.

"We meet again, Knives."

She was just like me.

"My name is Chronica."

A Plant.

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Will Nevaaaa... Be Miiiiine...!

Spoilers: ...none any more in dis one, I believe... Just a bit of explanation of who Chronica is in my A/N.

A/N: ALAS! My finals have at last been finalized! X3

...but if I told ya I'm not feelin as really happy as I should bout it, would ya believe me?

Coz from this point onward that I'm free from the evil clutches of exams, I have now fallen into the malicious hands of my softball captain! Given, that both she and the coach were _very_ tolerant of me (I'm the worst rookie yet...T-T). Still... training for 8 hours every day is just too CRUEL!! _(sulks)_

...actually I should be on the field two hours ago, but it was raining. But now with it only drizzling away for the past 40 minutes, I can't delay the inevitable any more... _(sigh...)_

Oh right. Didja like the surprise character I put in the fic? X3 From most of the Trigun fics I read, original characters from the manga series are, like, _non-existent_. Sooo, I figured that I'd be one of the first authors to use Chronica. Like her:3 ...Oh? Dunno who she is, or what she looks like? Hrm... the least I could do is entertain ya guys about her right? _(grins) _I posted her pic in my PhotoBucket. The link is in my profile.

Chronica is what Knives said she is: a Plant, just like him. From Earth of course. She made her first appearance in Trigun Maximum in Volume 11, chapter 1. She attacked Knives using one of the Earth's spaceships in Trigun Maximum ch 82, hence Knives' comment in that last episode; which happened after Knives' failed attempt to cointegrate with Domina. Huh? Who's Domina? ...Won't it be too much of a spoiler if I explain too much? _(pouts)_ Okaaaay, the most I could say is she was Chronica's ...friend.

To further understand these characters, I highly recommend reading the manga itself. You can download the latest installments of Trigun Maximum mangas from:

**www(DOT)maximum7(DOT)com(SLASH)?page(the "Equals-to" key)projects(SLASH)trigunmax**

You guys know what to do, right? _(grins sheepishly)_ The credits go to the tireless scanlators of **_Maximum 7_**. They got downloads in IRC, BitTorrent and Direct Download! Talk about professionals! XD

Or at: **www(DOT)mangatraders(DOT)com**

As the address suggested, the website is called MangaTraders, and trade mangas they do! XD Here, there are collections of mangas from various scanlation groups! They even got from the very first volume of Trigun to the latest of Trigun Maximum! Go and visit the site! X3

I've checked and re-checked the links. If there's any problem regarding the links, drop me a notice, kay:3

Hey, Vash-kun. Do the ending for me? I need ta go now. Thanks man! Bye!!

_(Vash pops his head from the side of the monitor, grinning –as always– at the already gone-with-the-wind author)_ "Sure! Bye bye!" :D

_(Knives scrolls down and read through the chapter, frowning)_ "Hey, that annoying female is doing as much chatter as I am in this episode too... and you'r – OUCH! Wat was _dat_ for??"

_(Vash smiles sickly sweet with his closed knuckle in front of him, while Knives pouts and rubs at his sore head. Then Vash proceeds to drags Knives away from the monitor; mumbling to himself of cunningly cute and rambling-way-too-much-for-their-own-good brothers. Turning to face the audience, he beams,)_

"Have fun reading!" : )

_(and proceeds to now semi-drags by the scuff of the neck a moping, mumbling-about-the-unfair-circumstances-of-them-all Knives away...)_

_(The readers are left with "...Huh? What just happened...?" written all over their face)_

A/N (2): _February 20th, 2007_: **Revised** **the chapter**. Is very tempted to bonk my head onto my desktop repeatedly

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 3**

----------------

"Yes, I am a Plant myself. An Independent; just like you."

I continued to stare, or more precisely, _glare_ at her, without uttering a word in reply. I never have a meeting with another 'Free-Born' –or Independent, as she verbalized it– before, except with Vash and what remained of Tessla. Oh, yes. There was another. The female I almost succeeded in cointegrating with. If only Vash didn't cut off the cointegration link...

Heh... still couldn't stop with the 'what-ifs', huh...

"... Stop smirking like that. For your information, the 'female' you were referring to has a name: Domina."

I sighed.

'Stop reading my mind, okay? Can't I have any privacy of thoughts here?'

I couldn't put any barricades to stop her from reading my mind. This may be her powers after all... with the help of the tranquilizer which was currently dulling the functions of my brain. Everything was still fuzzy, unclear...

"If only you'd stop insulting the memories of Domina. Her personal salvage was impossible after _you_-- ...We have lost her."

Her stern face twisted for a moment; of hatred, of pain. Those emotions were gone as fast as it surfaced. I listened, disinterested. My only concern was to save Vash. That was all.

"Shall I continue scanning your brain waves, or would you start talking?"

'If only you stop doing what you're doing right now, it'd be a deal.'

She stared at me, somewhat dissatisfied. "If only _you_ stop with your insults. It's displeasing."

'I wasn't insulting anyone. And it wasn't even in our initial agreement: your so-called Terms and Regulations.' I disdainfully snarled at her. Fuck all logics. I really didn't like her, and I'd prove it.

"It will, if you continue to be this obstinate. Really, with your brother's life being in the line right now..."

I harrumphed. "Very well, I'll stop with the insults; as long as no one warrant for it. Then, what should I do for Vash? You have said that he's in critical condition right now, did you not? Bring me to him," I demanded from her. My stubbornness was cut short with her reminding me of Vash. With some exertion on my part, I bent away from the wall I was leaning onto, shifting my entire weight on my aching legs, and managed to do it quite well. From another's point of view, I would look as if I was only shrugging the wall off of me. I staggered slightly at the few first steps; a miraculous show of muscle control. I was almost sure I would fall to my knees after pulling myself off the wall. But there was no way I would _kneel_ in front of _her_. Sheer strength of a prideful mind, if there was nothing more.

She was still gazing at me with those impossibly calm eyes. Then, she just _had_ to remind me, "Are you sure you wouldn't be needing this chair?"

I glowered at her for all she worth. Humans would usually yelp and beg for forgiveness, or just simply run away with a look at my face right now. She didn't even flinch.

I sauntered the rest of the few steps to her with the utmost grace I could muster at the moment given. I was really proud of myself of being able to do so. Keeping my chin high, I walked past her and that fucking implement of mobility, and then looked over my shoulders at her.

"Well, when are _you_ going to start moving, woman?"

I chose to ignore her silent insinuation of me regarding the wheelchair. For the time being.

She didn't even blink an eye. Her empty eyes reminded me of Vash, on the freezing nights of those first few weeks after the Big Fall...

_He would just lie on his back, staring at the cloudless skies for hours to come. Not blinking. Not moving. Not doing _anything_. There were times when I was disturbed with thoughts that he may be dead –which absolutely freaked me out, so much that I sometimes just had to shook his body violently, yelled at him to snap him out of his lifeless reverie, even punched him in the face and kicked him on his sides, only to get a reaction from him, _any_ kind of reactions from him– if not for the occasional silent tears that fell down from his distressingly tranquil, empty turquoise orbs..._

The woman started to walk to the direction to the door. I shook myself off my reminiscence, and followed her stead. The door slid open smoothly, leading to a long hallway. So, this room was at the very end of a fifty-feet-plus corridor. I could make out the evidences of thick barricades along the hallway, as I continued in stride with her. Safety precautions they were, then; if I was to escape from my enclosure, I suppose. If they were to try and stop _me_, my Angel Blades could take care of it just fine...

I flicked my left hand for the familiar feeling of sharp protrusions forming on my arm.

What in the...?

I stopped walking. I realized that I couldn't even _trigger_ my powers into working. _Any_ of my powers. I dubiously stared at my left arm, confused and alarmed. I tried some more, to create at least a small blade, or a single feather. But nothing happened.

The feeling of helplessness washed throughout me. Terrified for the fact that I couldn't use my powers...

_If I couldn't utilize my powers, how am I going to save Vash then...?_

"Don't worry. The power-limiting body suit fixed onto you is only to suppress your powers; not eliminating it."

I jerked and glared at her. "STOP READING MY MIND, you damned _bitch_!!" She wasn't keeping her side of our agreement! And since when did she stop walking??

She slowly turned her head to completely face me; her left eye was twitching. _Hah!_ A response!

"I wasn't. I could easily perceive your current thoughts, just by looking at you."

I really, _really_ hate her. I could _taste_ the smugness in her voice...

"You were the one not following the terms of our agreement."

_Am I some fucking book for you to read for fun!?_

"We will momentarily release you of the suppressor when the time comes. But for now, please bear with it."

With me shaking in my anger, she turned away and continued with her task of leading me to my brother. I stared dubiously at her back. No one, I mean, _no one _ever turns their backs at me, and kept living. She was lucky that I couldn't use my powers at that time being. She would be in bits and pieces by now...

She glanced at me over her shoulders, "Well, are you coming, or not?"

Trust her to indirectly attack my self-esteem. First: The wheelchair. Now: Throwing my insults back at me.

"Your brother is waiting."

I sighed. And trust her to strategically seed her reminders of my presently-very-sick brother. I composed my irate mind and swallowed my pride; trying to calm myself. "Lead the way," I declared while dramatically sweeping my arm to her general direction; the gesture oozing with mocking politeness.

She ignored me and resumed her stride to who-knows-where. I was tempted to stomp all the way, but my limbs were still too weak to execute the rigorous exercise of _stomping_. Even walking straight has been an exceptional accomplishment for me at that time.

As time passes, I began to be aware of my surroundings. _Mazes of corridors_... Even if I were to walk back to my enclosure, I wasn't sure if I could get there without being lost. The hallways all looked just the same...

Strange... I haven't sensed any humans here... We have been walking for what? 30 minutes?

"I don't intuit any living organism along the way. Where are we exactly?"

"In Spaceship Furcanica-01. Near the Ursula consolations," she answered without looking at me. "_Very_ far from _any_ human civilizations."

I raised an eyebrow. How long exactly I've been locked in, I asked myself...

"Tell me of this... ship."

"This spaceship is a one of its kind that functions as a top-security prison unit and a sanatorium all together. Powered by recyclable pure energy absorbed from the free plasmas in this universe, no Plant is needed in this craft. A fully automated spacecraft; it does not require anyone at hand to control its operations. This is why in here there are no beings other than us. I am here merely as a guide."

That explained the uncanny silence.

"It was hastily constructed to accommodate you, at first. To honor your brother's last request. Your brother asked _especially_ for you to be healed and to be safe. After confirmation of agreement from us, he collapsed. We built his chambers as well, when the suspicion of him needing your assistance was brought up. So, please do not assume that we were to isolate your brother along with you. After his recuperation, we will send him, either back to Gunsmoke or to Earth."

I smiled bitterly to myself, "Of course..." Reunite us, just to separate us back...

After a long walk, we arrived at a very large metal door. The blood-red cross on an ashen rectangular panel on the far right wall of the entryway was eerily familiar: just like the medical research facility where Tessla's remains were stored in...

She placed her hand onto a small platform on the wall beside the door, as she simply said, "Chronica."

The door opened for her, and wisps of cryogenic clouds filtered out of the opening. She stepped in, and I trailed close behind. I immediately felt the temperature difference; plunging for a good fifty degrees when I was a few steps into what I hope was not Vash's chambers. It was so cold... Vashu simply couldn't stand feeling cold. He didn't even like being cold. May that be physically, or emotionally. He has always been warm... so warm...

In the freezing temperatures, she started talking again, "Vash was to put in a cold chamber; it helps slow down the biological activities. We have just taken him out of his Convalesce Vessel, allowing you to _touch_ him. Through touch, the conveyance of energy will be at its best."

"H-How... so?" I asked through clattering teeth. Deeper into the chamber, the hostile cold got worst. My sore muscles were shivering out of control.

"Skin-to-skin contact. Your and your brother' Gates are in your left arm and right arm respectively. The transfer of energy from you to him is enhanced if you were to hold his right hand in your left hand, focusing on giving him a constant flow of medium-pulse energy; to yield the best transfer results. But please be quick. He mustn't be outside of his vessel for longer than an hour."

In the haze, I could discern a raised platform a few meters front of me. On the bed-like contrivance, was Vash...

His body was covered with flakes of ice. His once radiant skin was pale as snow. His now cracked lips were blue. There was even frost on his long eyelashes and flowing black hair...

How long have you been like this, Vashu...

Chronica stopped and faced me, looking at me directly in the eyes.

"If I were to release you from your suppressor, can I trust you to _not_ misuse your powers, and will you agree to let me put it back on after this transfer session is over?"

I merely nodded, all my attention focused on my brother's pitiful form.

She stepped aside, to a protrusion of keyboards that was facing at Vash's left side. She typed in a few keys, and I felt a torrent of energy flowing from my left arm and throughout my body. It left me a little lightheaded, and flexed my left arm a bit. The familiar feeling of my Seed's energy...

She glanced at me, and looked down at the monitor holograms in front of her.

"His condition now is fairly stable. But it won't be long. Please, start."

I stepped to Vash's right, while taking off the glove of my left hand; sorrow flushed through my systems. Even though I had been the main source of his torment for the past fifteen decades and had more than once wished for his death, I had never wanted him to _suffer_ like this... I took his right hand –so cold; so _not_ like the Vash I knew– into my left, and spun my brother's limp fingers into my own; focusing to somehow transfer my overflowing energy into his Gate.

I could feel it: his hand was getting warmer by the minute. Little by little, I could see his pale right arm getting back its color. Which could only mean that I was doing the right thing. I sighed deeply in my relief.

I lowered my forehead onto his, and closed my eyes. I desperately wanted to bask in his warmth...

When I opened my eyes, I realized...

I was standing in meadow of flowers.

Of _geraniums_... Rem's favorite...

_Where am I...?_

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: _(Knives trudges across the monitor with signs that say "Nightow's Forever" and "Fic-Writer's? NEVER!") (Vash is grinning and beaming at him proudly) (the author beams alongside Vash, practically gluing herself onto the gorgeous aqua eyed beauty) (Knives knocks the author a homerun with the signboards, taking his place back. On Vash) (the author stares longingly at the cuddling brothers – well, Knives' doing most of the cuddling anyway – and trudges away… but not before taking a heap of pictures of the cute – and "Sooo sweet! XD" the author cooed – sight) _

Spoilers: …in this particular episode? …_(cracks tense muscles at neck) _Just a bit on Vash's past.

Beta: Alaena-san. She's in my favorite. Sweet girl. She's much better of an author than I am by a hundred-fold! XD

A/N: I reeeaaally should be sleeping now (it's almost 3 AM)… training would start from 8 fuckin' AM, till sunset… and my legs are soooo sore right now… Curse the fact that we're gonna have a friendly match with another univ's softball team tomorrow… TxT

Knives in this episode is the most OOC one yet. Soo…mushy like. Particularly when it involved his dear brother. Even gave _me_ goosebumps! You have been warned!

Oh. For those who have been wonderin, what the hell was Knives doin in a meadow of flowers, you'll get a glimpse of the answer here…

Let the story commence!

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After The End of All

**Part 4**

----------------

_Where am I…?_

I browsed over the surroundings.

Geraniums. _Everywhere_. Wherever I see, only impossibly endless expanse of flowers filtered through my eyes. The sky was blue; blue as it was in one of Rem's fairytales she used to tell us… Red blooms scattered everywhere, flown by the wind…

I couldn't feel the wisps of irritating long hair. I glanced at my back, not seeing any of my hair. I ran my hand over my head. The familiar feeling of short spiky hair...

_Weird._

I looked down. I was wearing a simple light blue button-up shirt with matching slacks. The buttons were fixed along my left, and the collars were quite wide and high. This attire bore a striking similarity of the assemble I wore back in the SEEDs ship…

Right then, I could catch a glimpse of black amongst the red. I directed my gaze there, where I could see _him_…

_Vashu_…

He was standing there, giggling and playing with the wind. Happily smiling that gorgeous smile of his…

_So beautiful…_

His broom-like spiked hair, jade black; brilliant under the sun. His face, sweetly contoured with lovely laughter; no sign of remorse whatsoever. He was so adorable, in an outfit identical to mine…

_Like it was when we were children…_

"Knives?"

Those striking aqua eyes were directed to me, mirth dancing in their depths. He smiled – so pleasant, so relaxed – to _me_. I couldn't remember the _last_ time he had looked at me that way…

I couldn't help to smile back at him, twisted with a torrent of emotions – love, relief, confusion, adoration – and he continued to laugh.

"Hey, what's with the strange face?" he said to me, giggling. What expression should I be making right now, seeing him so happy; so alive…

But that can't be right… I still remember… seeing him in a cryogenic room… so cold… so… heartbreaking…

"Knives."

He raised his hand to me, beaming; wordlessly telling me to come to his side.

I mutely complied. I shakily staggered to where he was standing, not looking anywhere except for those joyful emerald orbs…

As I was nearing him, I lifted up my hand to meet his… five feet, two feet, one…

"_KNIVES!"_

All of a sudden, I was jerked backwards; and I blinked out of shock.

I was back in the cold, dark room; someone lying on a bed, shaking violently. Sound of beeping and screeching filtered though my bewildered mind. Someone… someone was yelling…

"Severe repercussion attack. Heart rate erratic and irregular. Commencing the emergency restoration system."

Everything… everything was in a blur… I was confused, lethargic, disorientated…

When my mind could no longer assess the situation, my body took over and made a solution. The most logical one.

I fainted.

----------------

"His body is not able to stay outside his vessel for long; not more than an hour at one time, intervals of at least 72 hours. If not, his body will suffer a serious _life-threatening_ relapse."

I listened to her explanations. It seemed that after I passed out, Vash was put back into the cylinder, with the tubes back on and into his body…

I was then _dragged_ by that _woman_ there onto a bed, in a living billet, in close proximity to where Vash was held, and was unconscious for the next one and a half days. I woke up, a couple of hours ago; roaring, demanding for me to be brought to my brother. Assured that he was safe; if you see him being stored in bloody fluids, with wires attached to him, as _safe_, then he is safe, I demanded some fucking explanation from the wretched witch.

Hmpt. Who else would 'the wretched witch' be?

I could still make out… _Vashu was blissfully smiling at me…_ what had exactly happened?

I told her of what I experienced back then.

"It may have been his conscious. You have somehow stepped into his sub-consciousness; into the projection of his mind. Or it may just be a hallucination; the need to meet your brother overrides all reason; with your condition worsen by the tranquilizer, and exhaustion of transferring your energy into him."

Thanks for the explanation, I thought sarcastically. Even I thought around the same thing. But I was _very_ glad that the tranquilizer had been completely metabolized when I was unconscious. I couldn't think straight with it pumping through my systems.

One of those times when I was exploring the ship, I came across a surgeon's knife in one of the med's rooms.

I have since got rid of my elongated hair, back to my usual shorter one.

I smirked as the woman raised an eyebrow when I walked past her in one of the hallways.

I spent the next few days browsing though Vash's medical files on the glaring computer monitors, while slurping some nutrient drink I found in a provisions compartment of my room. That damned woman insisted – correction: _demanded_ – that I shouldn't be eating anything solid for at least another four days. Hell, I was locked in a coffin, fed only with fluids though the tubes punctured into my arms. So, for quite a while, the foods provided to me were only fluid and semi liquid supplements. Damn.

With the files, I confirmed what she told me of Vash's condition. And more.

The grates and bolts around his body were removed as _they_ – the humans from Earth, of course – were able to fix together the bones without the addition of any foreign objects. Using ultra-something… laser treatment? Never mind that. With skin grafting, the scarring on Vash's body was reduced dramatically. I didn't know how I managed to miss this particular detail before. I was horrified when back in July, I first witnessed his once-unmarred skin tarnished. It was so horrific, my disgust of the human race skyrocketed ever since then. But as of now, I can see the tell-tale evidence that if he were to recover, he'd be able to get back the soft and supple skin that I remembered. I was grudgingly grateful for the fact that they managed to re-attach his arm back. I have regretted a little; cutting off his arm in a fit of rage. Hmp. Humans _do_ have their uses after all. However, I was certain that the motive of the human vermin doing these for Vash, in a way of _helping_ him, was out of _regret_… Why else would they want to revive a _dying_ Plant?

After I finished going through Vash's medical files – a good 297 documented research, treatment and observations, compiled with recorded testimonies, and hours and hours of Vash's treatment captured on video –, I began skimming through all files that had any indication of Vash or myself.

Their archive of my personal life was very short, compared to of Vash's. Most of what they know about 'Knives' had come from of the Gung-Ho Guns, through any witness' scarce statements, and from their observations on me since I was taken into custody; which was exactly 1639 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and…57.62 seconds ago. Damned humans even counting it till the nano-seconds…

…Really, it's been more than four years since then…

Vash's records, in the other hand, started over seventy years ago, around the time he left me…

About how he was found by the people of Sky City almost eighty years ago; how he traveled all over Gunsmoke; his obsession with donuts; his silly and willful nature; the Love and Peace sign; the way he played with children of the towns he visited; how he easily made friends; the hatred of humans towards him as the Humanoid Typhoon – when most of the destruction was made by the bounty hunters aiming for his head, and of course the Gung-Ho Guns –; how he still smiled when the humans obviously rejected him, when his so-called friends betrayed him, used him; almost sacrificing himself to save another; just doing nice things; how he requested for my life…

I decided to take a walk to stretch my muscles a bit. Really, reading too much made my eyes water.

A little sauntering, and I was back at Vash's place. I had come here a few times before, just to see him.

Waiting for the next time when I could touch him again…

I fingered the chilled cylinder, as if I was touching Vash's face. Eyes, nose, the beauty mark, fine cheeks, soft lips… _Such perfection._

If only those unsettling tubes can be removed from his face, at least… I made a mental note to check on this later.

I leaned my forehead onto the cold glass, yearning to meet the Vash of my dream… but I was sure now…

That it wasn't a dream. Wasn't a hallucination

I didn't experience it again. No matter how hard I tried; how much I wanted it, _needed_ it.

Somehow, I was relieved. That I wasn't going crazy.

That it might have been Vashu… the real one…

I smiled.

I can't wait to see him again…

I leaned my body onto the freezing surface, trying to close the space between us as much as possible. I closed my eyes, trying… trying to remember the warmth my brother was, trying to feel …

_I've missed you so much, dear brother…_

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not Mine. ;p

Spoilers: _(author scans over the whole_ _chapter) (and reads it again) (and browsed it for the trillionth time)_ …Wow. Amazingly no spoilies in this chappie.

Beta: **Alaena Night,** she is. She's the most amazing beta any writer would have ever hoped for! LoVe You! XD _(grabs Alaena-san in a bear hug)_

A/N: Knives being all mushy, Vash a bit more talkative, and Chronica a bit like a mother hen. … Wait. This explanation can also be utilized in Part 6 as well. Oh well, this is the spoiler for the next chappie then. :p

There are those who are **skeptical on** **how I'm delivering** **_Knives' personality_**. In my opinion, everything Knives have done before (the Big Fall, the murdering of human, somehow torturing Vash by sending the Gun-Ho-Guns, the intent on killing his own brother) was because he did what he thought was right and the best for him and his sibling. He tried to give his brother and kin a better future; without the humans that he sees as parasites which will eventually kill them, and leave all Plants "_smoldering in the bottom of some trash heap_" (Trigun Maximum, vol 8, ch 1, pg 29). He didn't believe that humans can change to the best, like Vash did. So he opt to get rid of the vermin, and take both of them "_back to peaceful times_" (quoted from Trigun Maximum, vol 8, ch 1, pg 36; which Knives had said himself).

He wanted to live with his brother and 'sisters', in a world void of humans;_ peacefully._

Read Knives' dialogue from Trigun Maximum, vol 7, ch 6, pg 4:

"**I bet you learned a lot. Or should I say… '_regained'_. I figured that if I made your conscience heavy enough, you would 'awaken'. Seems like it worked. It was obvious to me, though that there was no chance of them killing you. Do you get it now? The astronomically large difference between us and them. We cannot co-exist. When they kill ants, they don't shed a tear, right? This is the exact same thing."**

From this, you can see that Knives was trying to reason Vash, out to agree to _his_ ideologies. Here, you can see that the motive he sending Vash all the assassins was to convince his dear brother that Plants are very different compared to humans. That they will never be equals. That they can never 'co-exist'.

And here's a bit more (Trigun Maximum, vol 7, ch 6, pg 16):

"**You really think humans will accept us, who wields such amazing power? _No fucking way_! They'd come and murder us without even a shred of regret! The treatment they give to those who threaten their safety… you should know that more than _anyone_!"**

He concluded from all the scars, that Vash had gone through awful experiences throughout his association with humans. That after knowing who Vash was, they could not let him into their society because of the difference between them

That human will never accept them as they are.

But how did this shows that Knives really care for Vash?

Trigun Maximum, vol 7, ch 6, pg 5:

"**I won't let you use _that power_. Your hair is turning black. Do you know what that means? That colour is… _the darkness of decay_. The way I see it, you're much closer to death than I am!"**

Here, Knives told Vash to stop using his power. Not because he thought that his brother would use the ability against him. The way I see it, it was solely because he was worried for Vash. His brother was slowly loosing his life through the use of his power; why would Knives not be concerned? And in the battle between them in this certain chapter, Knives only used blade-like protrusions that _wraps around_ Vash, _not slicing_ through him. See the difference here? He was determined to get his brother back to his side.

Then, why did he decide to kill his brother instead?

Well, after Vash retaliated with his guns and an equally long counter-speech (…) along with the attempt to use his Angel Arm, Knives just… _snapped_.

Trigun Maximum, vol 7, ch 6, pg 25 & 26:

"**I… told you… _I won't let you use your damn power_!"**

"**I've been trying… to finish thing with you for a very long time… And now it looks like I've finally succeeded. _It's over_. I've tried every other option. But now I'm going to have to fuse with you. At the very least, you can live on in me, _VASH_!"**

From this dialogue, Knives at last gave up at attempting to get his brother to side with him. And concluded that if he cannot save his brother from his blind trust to human, he better just take away his dear brother's misery. By taking his life. Just like that.

As a deduction, in contradiction to general belief, I consider Knives as quite rational, with a _very_ _REALISTIC_ view on how to take care of his issues… even with that infamous temper of his. A self-centered young man that consider himself to be at the right all the time, and will use every method possible to achieve his goal. One that takes care of things very directly; who _will_ do whatever he likes, whenever he likes it. But, I also believe that he's a very compassionate person (…or Plant) when it involves those he cared for. He smiled pleasantly when he met Vash back in July city (Trigun Maximum, vol 5, ch 3, pg 14), seeming like a very proud brother when he managed to trigger Vash's Angel Arm (Trigun Maximum, vol 5, ch 3, pg 18). He even cried for this one Plant that died before he could 'save' her. (Trigun Maximum, vol 8, ch 1, pg 26) This is why I see him as a loving brother, even with all the torment he let Vash through.

At the end, he is just a guy with so much virtue, but too wrapped up into himself too see everything in a bigger view. One really frank boy, who is very forward with his thoughts, feelings, and actions. A reasonable man that considers everything at hand, before executing plans that we would consider impetuous. One who is really affectionate, but uses brute force to show his compassion. A very caring person, not wanting the ones he cares for to suffer any more than necessary, and will go to any length to stop the pain, even if he was forced to end that person's life…

This is what I'm trying to portray. Another side of Knives that most of us didn't see. A controversial version at best. Not the stereotype evil-Knives, but a passionate brother. I hope there are people out there that see him in this light as well. There is really not much we understand about these two brothers, so we mustn't conform our minds to _others_' point of view. We should also explore other possibilities too, right? _(grins)_

Just remember; in this fic, Knives doesn't have to deal with annoying humans or an obstinate brother. A whole new window to view through, duncha think so:D

…But, _man_… the more I think of it, the more I consider Knives as a selfish little _brat_… _(sweat)_ To think I used more than _THREE hours_ to write this down… My eyes hurt, and I'm getting a headache. TxT

I hope I didn't bore anyone to sleep… _(sweat)(sweat)_ This explanation IS a bit _TOO_ lengthy…

Those out there who want to give out their opinions regarding this issue, or just wanna offer plain feedbacks, please review or PM me, kay:)

Well, then. Let's go on with the story! X3

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 5**

----------------

_I've missed you so much, dear brother…_

"You do know what to do, Knives?"

I ignored her.

It had been more than three weeks since the first time I was here. In this arctic-like chamber.

Since the last time I'd seen _him_. My brother…

I took hold of his right hand with both of mine, bringing it up to my face; reminiscing, recalling.

His seizure was so severe, it took more time than predicted to get him stabilized for another session of energy transfer.

It took so long, I was terrified that I might not be able to touch him again…

That I had already _lost_ him…

"…I'll be releasing you from the suppressor… now."

The gush of overflowing energy was back. I tightened the grip of my left hand on his right, concentrating all my might to slowly, but surely, giving my energy to his Gate. Hoping that I could save him. Indefinitely. It may take time, but we have all the time we need. Right, Vashu?

Like before, I lowered my forehead onto his. Slowly closing my eyes, I tried to search for his consciousness. Trying to find _him_.

_Vashu, where are you…?_

I felt the odd feeling of warm breeze on my face.

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the unusual, but predicted, expanse of geraniums. Red blossoms; under my feet, up in the blue skies. Wind; so relaxing to the mind.

I wouldn't disapprove if I were to stay here forever with Vashu…

Because it was almost like the one place I've been searching for all my life…

"Knives?"

I turned my body around. There he was…

Smiling softly at me, he walked down from where he was standing on the small hill of crimson flora. To me.

At last, after almost a century, he was willing to come to me. Without any spitefulness; without any scheming from me to pull him back to my side.

He was willingly approaching me.

And it made me happier than I could ever imagine…

"Where were you? I've been waiting for you…"

Vash's eyes were dancing with delight, imploring. Waiting for my answer.

"…I've always been by your side."

…I sounded _so_ cheesy.

He giggled at my reply, "No, you weren't. I've always, always waited for you. When you were the one who made this place for me." Vash merrily expanded both of his arms outwards, indicating the infinite breadth of red and blue around us.

"This… place?"

He chuckled more at my puzzled expression.

"Eden, you silly. Don't you remember?"

_Eden?_

I swept my eyes across the horizons. The lovely scenery, the wonderful breeze, a beautiful brother… This place is…nice…

_But is this really the Eden I've been searched for?_

I turned to look back at Vash. He was only six feet away from me, beaming so proudly.

Something was not right…

This was not right…

_This was not Eden._

I barely felt something touching my shoulder.

Vash and Eden suddenly freckled out of my vision, and I was staring down a pair of closed eyelids. Frosted eyelids.

"It's time."

Chronica pulled her hand away from my personal space, touching a few keys on a hologrammed keyboard.

As I felt my powers dwindling, I slowly released my grip from his cold hands. Wishing that I could go back to where he was.

Even to that pseudo-Eden…

Because he was there, it felt so right, so heavenly…

I turned my back to his prone body, and walked myself out of the chilling chamber. Not daring to see him led back into that vessel of his.

I just couldn't.

----------------

"Did you get it?"

Chronica nodded, "Yes."

After a few weeks of observing and evaluating, I came to respect her. She may not be the most fun person to get stuck with, but her calm and wise demeanor really was more tolerable to deal with, when compared to most humans. May also be the fact that she wasn't a human herself, that I could put up with her. She probably had yet to forgive me for the incident regarding her Plant friend, Domina; but she seemed to be very professional with her task; which was to assist my brother's recuperation, and to keep a steady eye on me. I have yet to like her presence, but not many have deserved my deference.

But she did. More than ever, when she suggested this particular idea.

Recording of Vash's consciousness.

With the aid of her psycho-analytical powers, and the support of an electroencephalogram to detect and measure the electrical activity of the brain – both mine and Vash's – we were able to record everything that I've seen. Because she couldn't tap into Vash's closed mind, I let her come into mine.

Even though I voluntarily allowed her to do so, I wasn't very happy for the fact that I couldn't spend my precious limited time with Vashu, _alone_…

At least she can't hear anything, just _see_.

There was still privacy of thoughts in this place, I thought ironically.

We proceeded to watch, and analyze everything. From the moment I dived into Vash's psyche, until the time I left.

And the result was astonishing.

And startling.

While his body was degrading, his mind pushed his own consciousness away from the pain; giving him a place to reside in; a refuge.

The so-called Eden…

But as it protected Vash's fragile state of mind, his physical condition worsened. Because, without the support of the owner's will to live, an already-degrading body would not heal itself; even after all the medical attention the humans provided. And sooner or later, both mind and body would surely _die_.

I will _never_ let _that_ happen…

And, even though it felt like I only spent a mere five minutes with him, Chronica told me that I'd been crouching over my brother's unmoving body for more than an hour back then.

That explained the back aches.

From what little conversation I had with Vashu, we assessed that he had no recollections of very much of _anything_. Anything of what has happened, or was happening around him… Except that he knew who I was…

"_I've always, always waited for you."_

It was painful, seeing a glimpse of those empty eyes…

----------------

It had been twenty hours since then.

I continued to study the glaring monitor; scrutinizing the peaks and lows of the special curvature graft of Vash's Gate's opening. I was yawning non-stop ever since the energy transfer. I knew that transmission of power from one Plant to another is a _very_ _tiring_ process. Even more exhausting than when I utilized my Angel Blades to wipe out a whole city. I was knocked out after the first time. But I was too stubborn to rest now, because Vash needed all the help he can get…

I'm starting to acknowledge the miracles of a cup of coffee. No wonder the humans literally _worshipped_ this particular drink. I vaguely recalled one of my pawns with the saxophone – what was his name… Ho…freak..? – usually have a cup or so every morning. I can smell the enticing aroma even from my fortified chambers. I was intrigued by the sweet smelling concoction, but back then I preferred a glass of red wine. One as crimson as Vashu's coat…

Chronica stepped to my side. She left here a few hours back, to check on my brother's well being. "Found anything yet?"

I rubbed my temples, tired of thinking too much. "None. The peaks are too consistent; the waveforms too immaterial to clarify its significance. Not even the MRI, nor the EEG are revealing any abnormalities, irregularities or internal injuries in the brain. There is virtually _nothing_ that I can use here."

"Then get some rest. I'll take over from here. It is essential for you to get back your strength for the next session."

I hesitated, glancing at Vash's frozen visage on the monitor.

Chronica seemed to sense my indecisiveness. "He is doing very well. Better than we could have expected from just two energy transfers. The healing of his body seems to be improving. This mission is very much a success. It will take only another 26 hours before we could prepare him for the next session."

This was one of the few times I didn't mind her perusing at my psyche. Her answer to my unspoken question was somewhat settling.

"I leave this with you then. And_ do not_ read my thoughts anymore, you hear me?"

She was worthy of my trust. Still, it didn't mean I should come to like her.

But she was right about one thing.

I absolutely needed some sleep. My drooping eyes were a murder to keep reading with. Even murdering was _so much_ easier to deal with…

I walked out of the archive, stretching and yawning all my way back to my quarters.

_Until next time, Vashu… Wait for me._

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I'm a lowly being that would never own these great characters I used in this fic. So please dun sue me… T-T

Spoilers: Naaaaa'ah. None! Yay me. :3

Beta: **Alaena Night, **I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I – _(CHOP!)_

_(a tall, lanky figure picks up the decapitated head by the hair, whilst it is still reciting "I Love You" animatedly) (Knives levels the severed head with his face, glowering at it)_ "Hey, couldn't ya just SHUT UP? I'm trying to enjoy the time I have left in this ugly barren world with my bro here…"

"Ah, Knives! What have you done?"

"Drats…" _(left Knives' lips as Vash trudges to the middle of the monitor and yanks the noisily chanting head from his brother's grip, glaring – unsuccessfully, coz he looks more like pouting – at the head-chopping villain)_ "Knives, how many times must I tell you. You should not go and behead anyone at whim. And absolutely not the author! You can't let me stuck in that cylinder indefinitely… It's cold there, and I'll get lonely! Fuaaaann!"

_(Vash's angry sermons suddenly changes to Vash weeping loudly while hugging tightly onto the now-crying-along-with-him-coz-god-knows-why head) (Knives fusses over Vash, trying to calm him down fretfully. But the wailing head isn't helping by wailing some more… The insanity. XD )_

A/N: Knives' thought lengthily and flashbacked a huge part of this fic, Vash still OOC, and Chronica talking waaay to much.

…writing an author note just five hours after a traumatizing car accident is not a very good idea… _(sniffles)_

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 6**

----------------

"_Knives!"_

He ran merrily towards me this time. Not waiting, not walking; but _running_.

But I have to keep my cool, you see. I am the rock to his water. Ever waiting for him to come to me…

His hurried steps slowed down as he was nearing me. He clutched onto the blue clothing of my chest – seeming even more delighted, maybe for the fact that I was real, I was there, _with him_ –, and proceeded to embrace me in a warm brotherly hug. I rejoiced in the embrace, returning it to the giver.

"I've missed you, dear brother."

The way he whispered those words to my ear sent delighted shivers through my spine.

He tightened his grasp onto me momentarily, then released his hold of me. I reluctantly let him go as well.

I smiled gentlest smile I could muster. "Long time no see you too, Vashu."

He chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, it's not all the time you can keep me company. I just have to satisfy myself with a few minutes with you on very few intervals. That was all I asked for from you, anyway. You have given me all I've ever needed…" he beamed his response to me, spreading his arms, indicating to the pasture of flowers that surrounded us.

I have…?

How much of his memories were twisted to accommodate his staying here?

"I really like this place, Knives. Thanks for everything… You have been a very good brother to me. I don't know how to repay you…" he smiled softly at me.

Why, then, did I feel that all of his smiles were empty?

"You know that I'll do just anything for you…"

Are you lying to me, Vashu?

He snickered; an indication of the Vash that I once knew, "Of course you do. Cute little bastard with a brother complex."

I was flabbergasted at his forwardness. _Me, cute?_ _You're the cute one!_ Colored by embarrassment, I retorted, "Well, you like me just the way I am, right?"

The delighted curve of his lips told all.

However, I wasn't satisfied with the situation at hand. "But, Vashu. Are you happy here?"

"…Of course. Why should I not be happy in our Eden?"

I can sense the hesitation in Vash's voice.

"You said you missed me; I'm not here all the time. Isn't there anyone else to keep you company?"

He stared ludicrously at me, a confused smile tarnishing his brilliant features, "What nonsense are you talking about, Knives? There isn't anyone in this world except you and me. Don't you remember?"

…I see.

I felt a soft tapping on my shoulder, signaling for me to leave.

I didn't want to leave, but if I delay this longer than necessary, Vashu would be the one that suffers…

The scenery around me flickered briefly.

He seemed to understand, giving me a longing smile… "Go."

_I'm sorry, Vashu…_

-----------------

"…it's a good thing he made it in just in time. If there was another 12.63 seconds delay, I wasn't sure if he could survive the repercussion attack this time."

Chronica sighed into the monitor in front of her, glaring at me like a mother who found her child's hand in an off-limits cookie jar.

She had made it clear that I should have left Vashu's consciousness by the time she touched me.

I didn't know that a second in Vash's mind was equivalent to 1.74 minutes in the real world. She gave me a 5-minute advance in notice, but it was insufficient. I was reluctant to leave, that's why.

I scowled back at her. I wasn't one to give out without a fight, even though it was undoubtedly _my_ fault.

Then I yawned, long and loud.

This dizzy, sleepy spell wasn't helping me, though…

She blinked; mildly taken aback with my yawning. She returned her attention to the computer monitor, "You better go to bed. You can't assess the matter at hand with highest precision if you are lethargic. I can process what I have obtained for now. We can discuss your exchange with Vash later."

I rolled my eyes. "You are not my mother."

I scarcely discerned her lips curving up, and mouthing something that looked a lot like "I am. To two big boys." Really funny, mom…

She was slowly, but _surely_, lowering her guard to me. I was feeling a tad glad at the thought. Though, it was going to take hell of a longer time to crack through that ice of hers.

You see, this place is a boring place to be without someone to argue with. I still haven't got any way to get her back about the damned wheelchair. I _am_ a very vengeful person.

Back in the SEEDs ship, I used to quarrel with Vash _all the time_; at least twice a week. But we made up most of the time. Usually the argument started with us not agreeing with each other about small things. As an example, we got into a fight because of this one question: Which was prettier, geraniums or butterflies? Vash said that geraniums were the prettiest thing in the world ever – after that _woman_, _Rem_ of course. Obviously said that because of _her_ attachment with the flowers –, while I disputed saying that it was just food for the prettier butterfly; almost saying that Vash is the prettiest being ever. Didn't say it though. Once, I did tell him that he was cute. "Cuter than that cute girl in the cold sleep!" I childishly added. Well, it led to a whole day of him pouting and sulking because he didn't like the term that made him sounded feminine. Hope he doesn't mind it now, as I still see him as cute…

That was one stupid matter to argue about, really. But both of us were such brick-heads. It took Rem three days to get us back together. With a _lot_ of persuasion to the both of us. She stressed that every individual has their own point of view of what beauty is. We shouldn't argue about that, because it would be quite pointless. With both of us siblings being obstinate, it just made everything worse. At last, we did reconcile. Then, I told him the truth; that I saw _him_ as the most beautiful being in the whole universe. He locked himself in his room for the next ten hours, reluctantly opening his door after a lot of coaxing from Rem and cajoling from me. No need for apologizing though. I _was_ saying the truth.

I recalled Vash saying I have a brother complex. I smirked to myself. A really severe one, I must say….

As reluctant as I was to leave, I grudgingly agreed to Chronica; that I desperately need my rest.

With a last glance to the still being in the cylinder tank, I trudged my way out of the cold chambers.

Somehow, I managed to stay back after the energy transfer; watching – _petrified_ – as the tubes and wires were attached back onto Vash's prone body, one by one; by mechanized arm-like extrusions. I was sickened, to a point I gagged; almost throwing up right there and then.

At least the tubes on his face were now replaced with a face mask like my own back in my coffin.

That little detail made me genuinely pleased.

Because this meant that I could now ogle at his peaceful visage through the transparent mask, not worrying if Vash was choking on the tube in his mouth. I knew that it was a childish thought. 'But I _am_ childish…' I grudgingly admitted to myself.

I went to bed with sleep of disturbing dreams; of Vash.

Alone, in the heaven he created himself. Smiling still; emptily, full of loneliness he didn't understand himself…

_All alone…_

-----------------

"That was what he said to me."

I had returned to my regular seat in the archive, in front of the main monitor. Chronica and I were currently discussing my tête-à-tête with Vash. I had just woke up after four hours of inconsistent sleep; once in a while waking up from upsetting nightmares, which most I could not remember. But, I did remember one.

Vash's empty eyes.

Looking at me with utmost trust; absolute conviction to everything that was me. Smiling those sorrowful grins, trying to make sense of what was going on, when he could not remember anything…

It scared me.

So much that I didn't dare to go back to sleep. Because I didn't want to experience that dream again… Because I knew… I knew…

It was _my fault_… for him to suffer like this…

Of course the spiders were also at fault. They took him away from me; his sanctuary, his _brother_. I hated _her_ for luring him away, with her sweet promises of pleasant mannered humans. That they could change, that they would at last accept us. Forcing me to try and _make_ Vash oblige to _my_ point of view; that they are parasites after all. But _her_ poisonous words were already at effect. Her obtuse ideologies was forever etched into his mind. I can't save him from that, but I could try to beat it out of him. Thus all the abuse I imposed on his fragile body. Using _force_ to make him come back to me…

I used to not care how Vash would feel from all the torment I made him go through, as long as I could have him return to my side. But I still couldn't let go of the feeling of guilt every time I thought of Vash in his current state…

So I had to make things right. Just like the way it was when we were children… I _will_ claim you back from _her_, Vashu…

Chronica solemnly contemplated any possibilities on how to approach Vash's situation, which my little chat with Vash may have been able to reveal.

"It seems that you are the main source of his current state of distress."

I resisted the urge to stomp my feet onto the floor like a chided kid. Oh, thank you _so much_ for enlightening me of that little detail… "You didn't need to declare it to the whole ship. There are only the two of us here who are all ears. The third one of our trio party is currently suffering from an irreversible degradation process that may be aggravated by the fact that he has _no_ idea whatsoever that he is in _pain_ in the first place. Either physically or psychologically. Which makes his healing a lot more complicated to deal with."

There. I've said it: my insecurities. Happy?

Chronica appeared to be taking no notice of my ranting. "From what we can see, he is suppressing any memories that has any indication of relations; responsibilities to the outside world. His mind is closing him in; away from anything that may interfere, or remind him of his past. To make him stay. In that make-believe Eden… But only the memories of _you_ were retained. However warped it was. The question now is; _why?_"

Responsibilities…? "He did say that I was the one providing him with the so-called Eden. This may be his way of reasoning the existence of the mythical place in the first place." But… why me? Not _her_…?

"True. But why you? Why not another of his acquaintance? Why would it not be the individual that raised you? That person must have been the one who instilled the ideas of Eden to both of you, right?"

I frowned at her. How could she know…? I can feel it if she was dwelling through my brain, my memories. But she wasn't. She was a person of dignity, and won't even think of doing anything _that_ despicable, now that I wasn't doing anything of malice. I was sure of that, at least.

Chronica gazed deeply into my eyes… "The Independants' ideologies are shaped throughout the first year of birth; until we were considered adolescents by human standards. And we'll carry that belief throughout our whole existence; until the end of our lives. I was educated to serve; to assist those who raised me. I have faith in them, and they respect me fro who I am; however different I am compared to them. That is why I am now here. In front of you. Your situation is similar to mine; raised by humans that saved you from experimentation of curious ideals, those without regards of moral ethics. Our adopted parents instilled philosophies that are with us until now; and until the day we were cease to exist. We cannot erase them, but twisted idealisms were unavoidable at times…" she explained, somewhat knowingly.

I reflected on her justification. She was right; Because that woman… because _Rem_ had repeatedly told us again and again of the fabled Eden, with hope that we'd acknowledge the reality in which humans and Plant maybe – just _maybe_ – can live happily together, that I had truly believed with the existent of Eden. But to me, Eden is a place where there are no humans; a place only for Vash and I to live together, forever, happily ever after. I didn't want anything to happen to my dear brother; like the torture Tessla had gone through. Not daring to take any chances. Not willing to share him with _anyone_… But to Vash, his Eden is where humans and Plants can co-exist, live with respect of each other's existence. He wanted – no, _needed_ – contact with humans. Those that Rem saved from destruction. Those he sees as replacements of _her_… The countless humans he encountered with. Those he had befriended with… He really believed in these vermin, just as he had with Rem. That they can change. That they can at last accept us…

Hmpt. And where did that brought him? Dying in a cylinder, stuck in his own head in that warped Eden of his.

With all these thoughts running through my head like wildfire, I was starting to doubt whether we really are twins… We do have the same features, more or less. Our faces are almost the same. Our statures are of almost the same built; just that I tend to be a bit higher than Vash is. Around an inch, I believe. Still am. But our similarities are only limited to our physical appearance. The way we think, the way we cope with emotional struggles; all are _very_ dissimilar. Shouldn't twins have the same mindset about, well, _everything_? That's what I read before…

A click resounded in my subconscious.

Did _she lied_ to us…? There is a possibility that we are not really twins… Maybe we came from different Plants; conceived at the same period of time, coincidently have the same face…

_Then he's not my brother?_

I mutely harrumphed to myself. Rem may be a conniving little bitch with ideals too high for her own sake, but she was no liar. Just a dreamer, with no sense of limit to the trust she put on the people of her species… And more, those books I read only involved human twins. Maybe being Plant twins had another meaning all together…

Chronica, who was in a contemplative silence, decided to continue, "For one reason or another, he recognizes you, and probably, only _you_. We should use this situation to our advantage, then. With his body healing well, I may be able to slip into his awareness. But forced revival at this point is a double-edged sword. The risks are too high. Only around thirty five percent success ratio. 34.7443 to be precise. He might wake up from his coma, but it is a possibility that he would retain his mentality from his current state of mind. We could not risk that, now could we."

…is that so.

I gripped my hands together in resolution.

And smiled.

"I understand."

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not. Mine. _(yaaaawn…)_

Spoilers: Trigun Maximum, Vol 6, ch 4. Just a bit of an exchange between Knives and someone…

Beta: **Alaena Night,** you deserve the title of the best beta in the world! XD _(glomps and cuddles Alaena-san)_ …. Thought, I'm very sorry for not contacting you for so long… Could you still accept me..? _(peers at Alaena-san with glistening puppy eyes)_

A/N: This episode starts three months after Part 6.

A/N(2): I'm sooooooooooooooooo sorry with the late update. I've given my warning of the fact that I'm a slow writer in my profile, but MAN I never thought I'd taken this long a time to write! The life as a university student gets more hectic by the time you progress into a new semester. Not helping is the fact that I've got major tests and exams almost every month, with all the labs and assignments and reports… not to mention that I'm getting more involved with my collage's activities. Soooo tired… TvT

Well, to make due to all my readers out there, I'll be posting this fic at a faster rate. I've almost finished with this little baby, as I'm already done the next few chappies, which are just going through some proofing. Only one chapter left for me to do, and that's it! Then I can start with another series of that has been stuck in my head for the longest time! Yay! XD

_(Knives is poking the author on her side.)_ "Oi, oi. Didn't ya already started with that, like, four months ago? If I'm not mistaken, you already have two chapters written down and a third one in suit, finishing at the middle of last night? When you barely even done with the two assignments you were _supposed_ to hand in the week before?"

_(The author sweatdrops as the readers are beginning to stare at her suspiciously.)_

_(Vash – appearing out of nowhere, just like his brother…– cheerfully injects,)_ "Oh, not to forget that oneshot you wrote a couple of months back, which you took your time editing? You know, about Wolfwood and me fuc—MUMPHS?"

_(The author promptly glues her hands on Vash's mouth, her apprehension mounting as the Knives joins in the darkly glowering readers. Knives is smiling sickly sweet, which is scaring the hell and earth out of the already trembling author.)_

"Oh, really? Care to explain what MY Vashu was talking about, dear author?"

_(And seeing the glimpse of Angle Blades forming on Knives' arm, the author makes the wisest decision ever: She runs, as if her life depends on it. Hell, her life does depend on not letting those elongated knifes slice through her!) (As the author scampers away, Knives swiftly takes hold on his brother, hugging him by the neck, and mumbling to himself about stupid authors will be getting what she deserves _later_. Vash sweatdrops as he substitutes the author by saying,)_

"Ah… Enjoy your reading..?"

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 7**

----------------

The dark speck in my hair has expanded.

"_That color is… the blackness of decay."_

I gazed blankly into my reflection in bathroom mirror. More of my silver blond spikes have turned to black…

If Chronica hadn't told me, I would have never noticed.

----------------

_(FIFTEEN HOURS AGO)_

"…_Say what?"_

_Grasping to any godly hold onto my body, quelling the immediate urge to find the nearest reflective object in the vicinity, I gawked point-blank at Chronica._

"_You have more dark hair now than it was the time you were released."_

_My outward demeanor may have been__ relaxed, but my heart was pounding erratically. I clenched onto the cold armrest of my chair. In these hectic three months of energy transferring and research, I had totally forgotten about my condition…_

"_It is an unavoidable side effect of using your power even beyond your limit. Independents may utilize their power freely, but if they have passed their boundaries, continuous output will cause degeneration of tissues and internal organs, which will inevitably lead to total breakdown of the bodily activities…"_

_And death._

Just like Vash.

_Chronica was purposely averting her eyes from mine, currently looking into a travel log in her hands._

_She knew._

_She knew that as I tried to save my brother, it would__ also result in me slowly killing myself. And she never intended to tell me this earlier, before the treatment begun. But since I had__ come this far in reviving my brother, I could not__ step back anymore…_

_I whirled my chair back to face the numerous monitors, continuing with deciphering Vash's neuroimage and sensorimotor rhythm waves._

"_It's not imperative to Vash's__ recuperation, thus it is not important. Please avoid from bringing up this matter again."_

_I cannot let her see, nor feel my present state of distress. My pride will never tolerate any demeaning actions in front of anyone. Even her. _

_That particular issue had__ absolutely slipped my mind as I was rushing to find methods on how to efficiently heal Vash to the point where he would no longer need that awful cylinder vessel he's in right now. With the energy transfer becoming more frequent by the weeks, I have little free time between my sessions with Vash, my indispensable sleep and research. Much less for grooming._

_Chronica sensed something was amiss, but didn't say a word to me since. I had truly appreciated the solitude._

----------------

I ran my hair through the short locks of my hair, ruffling it in a childish attempt to somehow make the dark spikes disappear amongst the silver white ones. Knowing that it didn't make any sense and was just a waste of time, but I didn't resist the temptations.

I was already dying. Why should I restrict myself from doing what I want to, when I want to?

…ah yes. _Time_. Time is precious. With these constant energy transmissions, it's no wonder that my body has taken its toll as well. The reason on why I cointegrated with my sisters was because I no longer had the unlimited capability to use my powers after that event in Nouve drained me beyond my threshold. If I were to burn up my powers with this current rate, I may as well make my own grave on this ship.

… wait. This ship _is_ my grave, and my coffin is already prepared for me. I had previously spent a good deal of my time in that casket.

I snorted humorlessly. Yes. Time was very important. I could not waste what valuable time I had left.

Vash needed me.

----------------

"Why are you so sad, brother?"

Vash hazily gazed at me, looking at me with imploring emerald eyes.

"You're only imagining things," was my immediate reply.

We were sitting on one of the red dunes in Vash's make-believe Eden. To be exact, I was the only one sitting. Vash was inclined to lying on his back, happily observing the cloudless skies. With that constant empty smile etched onto his face…

I dragged my eyes from his; a nagging of _de-ja-vu_ was poking me in the head.

I was sure that any physical changes to me would also be brought into these sacred grounds, as Vash has once cheerfully pointed out that some of my hair was black and asked why I dyed it that way; which I answered with a shrug, a pat on his head, and a 'just because'. Thus, I deliberately sat to his left, in a futile effort to cover my blackening hair from his sight. It had spread to almost one-fifth the expanse of my hair. And I believe I just added some more with today's session.

I have yet to tell him. Of his present situation, of his past, of his present, of me; of _anything_. If he were to go into shock from mental overload, he may suffer a relapse; which would have a dire consequence on his body and revert all my efforts of healing him until now. Vash's physical condition was progressing very well, and the temperature of his chambers had been raised gradually until only chills were felt as I stepped into it earlier today. Chronica and I have agreed that we'll wait until Vash no longer needs the Gouhfon's bio-stabilizer to keep alive, and_ then_ tell him the truth. But Vash and I have talked a little about our childhood times. I was taken aback when he suddenly recalled us spending time in a place filled with greenery and the sky was also blue, playing around the big tree at the middle of it, exploring the mysterious world of the gardens. He even remembered the very first few words he learned to read: _once upon a time_. **_(x)_**

Apparently Vash retained the happy memories of us when we were only children; when we were so naïve, so gullible…

But for some reason, any indications of memories regarding Rem were still suppressed. My best guess was he wasn't ready to face the truth.

Whenever I met Vash in this false heaven, I engaged myself into make idle talks with Vash or walk around the unchanging scenery with him or just sit around, silently taking pleasure in just being there with my dear brother…

"Please don't lie to me."

"……"

I veered my head to my right. Vash was sitting upright beside me, crossing his arms on his raised knees, hunching as he rested his chin between his forearms. He apparently was looking straight to his front, at the endless blue horizons.

…Is that a frown I see?

If my memory hadn't failed me, this was the first time Vash had made any expression that wasn't cheerful or playful-like ever since I met him in this peaceful pseudo-paradise.

"You know, you're very bad at lying. Ever since we were little, you can't keep a straight face or look at me when you lied to me. And you're doing the same thing now."

Vash turned his head a little, just enough for his green orbs to peer at me with his face still partly buried in his arms. His beseeching gaze was my undoing.

I could not pull my eyes away from those aqua depths. The eyes were glowing; gleaming of knowledge, of comprehension, of understanding.

Of hurt.

Because I was being untruthful to him, Vash comprehended that I was keeping something from him. Since he thought I didn't put much trust in him as a brother, he responded with being sad.

I was just as ecstatic as I was upset.

Vash being hurt meant that some of his feelings had come back. Understanding one's feeling require recollections of that person's past. Which meant that he did remember being hurt, and that indicated his memories slowly coming back and improving, with his emotions in tow.

This is a good thing, right?

On the other hand, it'll be much harder to keep a secret from him. One of these days, I'll be forced to tell him the truth. And the truth is not always good for the faint-hearted. I am sure that Vash is much stronger than that I'm currently taking him for granted, but I cannot risk his health with his already precarious well being.

My reply was slow but stern, "Forgive me, Vashu. I have much in my mind that I cannot reveal to you, yet. But in time, I'll tell you all about it. Don't worry yourself about troublesome issues. When the time comes, I'll show you the whole truth. I promise you that."

Vash wasn't satisfied with my response, if that discontented pout he was giving me was any indication of it. Then he did the most childish act ever, since last month's lets-make-a-huge-red-flower-ball thingamabob.

"Pinky swear."

Wholly amused, and feeling much more at ease, I connected my right pinky with his offered left one. I pulled the linked fingers nearer, and pressed my lips onto them; kissing them. Vash followed suit. When we were little children, this was our extended version of pinky-swearing, making our promise much more important to keep.

Well, better entertain him than seeing him sad.

He grinned at me; an honest smile straight from his broken heart. And I grinned back.

How I have missed these dulcet interactions with my brother…

The usual pat on my shoulder snapped me out of my elated reverie. It was time for me to leave Vash; _again_…

Vash, being perspective as ever every time I had to take my leave, said the customary farewell: "Will you come again?"

Vash was still smiling, but his lips were wavering in a hidden woe. No matter how many times I had come and go, how my time here has extended from mere five minutes to almost an hour in one session, he was still unsure…

I steadily rose to my knees, and kissed him softly on his smooth forehead. That, and a smile, was the only reassurance he ever needed.

A whispered 'thank you' rang through my ears as I left him alone in the vast plane of geraniums…

----------------

I absent-mindedly picked at the white sheet of my pillow. **_(xx)_**

For the last two months, I made it a habit to go straight to bed after every energy transfer. Usually as my head hit the pillow, I'd be snoring away, dead to the world for at least five hours. Then I would wake up refreshed and ready for hours of endless, and most of the time fruitless, research for Vash's cure. But that time, I had been rolling around my bed for the past twenty minutes, and still I could not sleep a wink.

My mind was haunted with the possibility that I may not be able to absolutely heal Vash with only my powers. I may have enough energy until he was restored to health enough for him to return to awareness from his coma. But with his hair completely turned to black, he would need a continual source of energy flow to keep him alive. His Gate will not be stable enough even after all these treatment. I've delved into every means possible, but none other than me has a flow that synchronizes with his. Thus, I am his only hope at living… I couldn't die before him. I _mustn't_ die before him. He needs me; now more than ever…

This sense of hopelessness and incompetence gnawed into my soul. Just like when I received my first strands of black hair.

Just like when Elendria revealed to me that Vash was suffering the same fate as I was; of gradually degrading into a being lesser than those _spiders_…

I didn't envision that Vash could be dying as a result of my activating his Angel Arm. Everything… _everything_ was going as planned. As it should be. But Conrad just _had_ to keep that _one_ crucial information from me…

"_Looks like your hair has begun to darken. It's downhill from here, Knives"_

"_What do you mean…?"_

"_You've exhausted your maximum capabilities, your decline as an organism has begun. Just like her. If you continue to use this power, all of your hair will turn to black… and you body will break down completely. In other words, you will die."_

"_You predicted this… Damn you, Conrad!"_

"_If I hadn't, how would I have been able to stop it? This is the only option for a lowly human like me."_

Yes, that was low. Even for him. But the selfish humans will go to any extent to keep themselves safe and well-protected, with an emergency back-exit.

To think that I had put so much trust in him… I assumed that he was one of the 'good guys' in those old western movie flicks I watched with Vash way back in the SEEDs days. To put my faith in the doctor to get rid of my sickness was the right thing to do, I thought to myself. But, _again_, my conviction to a spider went against me. I should have known that he'd keep something _that_ important from me up his sleeves…

I should have never trusted a human. They have yet to show that anything good will come to their alliance with Plants. Yes, they have managed to save Vash from crossing the doors of death before. But just because _they_ were the cause of his current misery, the pests felt they were _obligated_ to do so. They have yet to learn from their lessons…

I tightened my grip onto the pasty-colored fabric.

Without the whole information, I had made a huge glitch in my strategy. Vash was supposed to return to my side, not to die because of it. Conrad was at fault… he didn't tell me about the darkening of the hair was the indication of a Plant's death…

I've killed him. You'd be happy to know that the one at fault for making you go through all this died by your brother's hands. Won't you, Vash?

I coughed out a hollow chuckle.

Yes… yes, you would.

They are incapable of rescuing you. But I can. And I will. I will resuscitate you from your endless dreams, and bring you to a better world…

I closed my eyes; as if the weights that kept them open all this time had finally been lifted off of me, enabling me to get my much-needed rest. I curled into a tight ball, drawing my coverlet tighter; enveloping me like a warm hug would… lulling myself to sleep with the hopes of a future with my dear brother…

_A better future for both of us…_

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

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A/N:

**_(x)_** I quoted this from a fanfic titled 'Eaten Away' by _Tomo Trilions_. I have somehow fallen in love with the dark fic. Especially the ending. Such a sweet ending for one godamned horror story. U'huh. _(nods to self)_

**_(xx)_** And adopted this little one from 'Love and Reproduction' by _Yma_. This is also one hell of a dark and gloomy fic. Not for the lily-livered or the prejudiced, mind you. One of the few that I love very, _VERY_ much. (It's even in my Fav Stories list! Yay! XD) At one scene, Yma portrayed Knives sitting on his bed, as he "plucks idly at the starched white sheet of his bed". That's really cute for a sociopathic Plant when you think of it. XD


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: …Doin' this every time is very tiring… TxT

BOOOM!

_(men in black lawyer suits come barging through the torpedo-ed door – and a good missing part of the wall – with one of them holding up an equally black and really shiny EVIL lawsuit, thus the author hastily added: )_

IDON'TOWNTHECHARACTERSIUSEDINTHISFIC!!!

_(then the lawyers vanished as fast as they came, whereas the author coughs in trepidation amidst the debris)_

Keh keh— _(fans away the dusts) _…Remember, my fellow writers. Being lazy bout writing disclaimers is detrimental to the health of your body. And your wallet. And your sanity… _(bonks head on the keyboard) _I could SWEAR its _Knives_ who told them to do this…_ (mumbles to self)_

…!!! _(suddenly got up from seat and spits into a sink)_ Blergh! Dirt got into my mouth! XP

Spoilers: Nooooooooneeeeee….. _(dances around in glee)_

Beta: **Alaena Night,** there is not enough gratitude in this world could be given to you, my dear friend… _(huggles Alaena-san)_

A/N: In here, I ranted a bit too much about stupid medical conjectures (which all I promptly pulled out of my behind around three in the morning. :p) and some theories of Independents' origins.

Yaaaaaaayy! I'm sooo happieee that my finals are almost over! One more paper and I'm FREEEEEEEE!!!_ (merrily does a New York boogie)_ Then I could finish up writing and editing this fic. I'm sorry if the waitin is too long… T.T Oh, sorry if I'm all jumbled up. This is what happens every time I got too overloaded with exams and shit… TvT

Happie reading: )

… come ta think about it, where are Knives and Vash?

----------------

After The End of All 

**Part 8 **

----------------

At last…

At last, after almost half a year of therapies and research, Vash was able to live outside of the Gouhfon's solution.

I cannot express my emotion; how ransacked and unbelievably ecstatic I was as I looked down to my brother on his sterile ashen bed, skin pallid still, but living and breathing nonetheless. He was no longer dependant to those unsightly tubes and wires, and as the healing strains on his body had alleviated, he didn't need to stay in a cold chamber anymore. I moved him to a medical billet nearest to my living quarters, so that it'd be easier for me to take care of him. But I believe the close proximity of our quarters is quite irrelevant, because I doubt that I'd even step out of this room, with him now with me…

I held his hand in mine in a firm grip, never wanting to ever let go. I lifted the unmoving limb up to my cheek, feeling the heat radiating from it. Feeling him in front of me; so warm, so physical, so alive…

Long have I yearned for this day to come. Bygone all those horrible days of hopeless search for a cure, of helplessly watching Vash being positioned into that glacial cylinder of his, of me desperately trying to connect with my brother through the icy walls of his confines…

The answer to the five-year riddle was difficult to uncover, but unexpectedly simple. Rather than Vash drowning in the pool of bio-stabilizer, why not let the solution heal from inside him? It was a radical proposal. The bio-stabilizer was extremely effective at accelerating cell and tissue regeneration, but it was also highly poisonous when consumed due to some of its main component of mercury and lead. Vash was not immune to the lethal fluid, and an external source of an antidote was far too slow to react with the toxin. But what if nano-machines in Vash could produce the counter-poison from deep within him? Upload the nano-bots with the required tools and instructions, and they could do wonders if one was willing enough to explore what others see as impossible.

Nothing is impossible, if one cares to delve into matters without letting the word 'unfeasible', 'impractical', 'unattainable', 'unachievable', or, worst still, 'hopeless' influence their credibility and decisions.

At first, Chronica was against my proposition. "It's too risky! You'll never know the consequences of an unproven hypothesis!" she retorted. But after a lot of reasoning and long discussions, she came to acknowledge it. Of course there were experimentations done. We couldn't apply untested theories straight onto Vash. The ratio of anything going wrong might have been very minimal, but I was not one to take any chances. So, for two weeks, I tested it on _myself_. Contented that there were no eminent negative side effects, Chronica began inserting the modified nano-machines into Vash, along with the smallest doses of the bio-stabilizer the numerous times I delved into Vash's unconsciousness. Since there were no apparent negative corollary, the doses were gradually added up to the required amount Vash needed to stay alive without being submerged in the solution itself.

But with Vash immersed in the bio-stabilizer for such a long period of time, the hideous scars around his body were significantly reduced to only white streaks of dead tissue on the smooth skin. The grates and bolts were long removed, leaving his skin clear of any foreign extrusions. His left arm had also mended, and looked almost like it was never disconnected from his body. I nearly sobbed in relief as I clothed Vash with a pair of clean, colorless pajamas, seeing how his once disfigured skin was healing so well.

I rested my head onto his chest, listening to his heartbeats. Slow, but steady. Such a melodious tune of life…

I pointedly disregarded Chronica who was leaning onto the entrance door, silently observing a moment of weakness on my part. But I couldn't care less.

I have the one thing in the whole universe that was important to me. And now, I'm nearer to getting him back. My brother, my solitude, my everything…

I can begin with the second stage of Vash's recuperation. And some more…

----------------

"…What are you going to tell him?"

"The names of his human allies, nemeses, places, etcetera. Figured that by making him recall these, he would jumpstart his own memory into working."

I flexed at my limbs; cracking cramps that built up along the muscles and joints as I slept on the chair beside Vash's cot. Yesterday, I tried vainly to get into Vash's mind without doing the energy transfer for more than an hour, before completely giving up with the unproductive endeavor. Reckoned that his mind remained closed with his Gate running amok in his system. With only two-thirds of my hair remaining true to its original color, I presume that I shouldn't risk draining too much of my precious power. But my brother was more precious to me than my own self, because without him, I would not have a purpose to live anymore.

Chronica seemed to be vacillating with my decision. I understood her indecisiveness about making hasty progress with Vash's treatment. Vash had just left the cylinder that has always shielded him from possible repercussions less than twenty hours ago. His condition was shaky at best, and Chronica was worried if it was too early in the therapy to force Vash into remembering.

I cheekily replied to her unspoken question: "It's not that I'll be doing it now. I'm still too damned tired. And hungry. Care to have breakfast with me and Vash?"

Having Vash here with me really put me in an awfully good mood. And since Chronica had been so supportive, I didn't mind her bothering me anymore. We previously had countless meals together, while exchanging formal chats and altercations. Her way of dining was defined, elegant and controlled; a tribute of a delineate upbringing. Mine was relaxed and more direct, but nevertheless refrained. I couldn't care less how others thought of me as I was almost the picture-perfect example on how a person could wolf down their food with a hint of grace; I could never see the point of spending too much time in such a frivolous task. But to show my respect to my caretaker, I allowed myself to eat at a slower pace, and indulge her in leisurely conversations.

One could never know how much can be learned just by listening at the dinner table.

Chronica began opening up to me three months ago, after revealing to me about my darkening hair. She somehow was seeing me in another light. May have been the selfless reply I gave her, or for the fact that I continued with the energy transfer, in spite of knowing I'd slowly meet my death by doing so. She told me so much about the Independent communities all around the cosmos, her past and Earth itself.

A recorded number of thirty-eight Independents had been born in the last two centuries from every crook and cranny of the explored universe, and thirty-two of them had managed to live on until now. Vash and I were also added in the statistics. There may have been more, but they had yet to be logged into the Earth's registration system. The incredibly low number in such long period of time was ultimately contributed to the 'black hair' effect that was coded into every Plant's genetic makeup. Independents should have not existed at all, if not for the malfunction of the 'black hair' degenerative properties.

But the humans could not control even the products of their own creation. There were Independents born.

All Plantlings were given birth by the finest Plants of the pack; ones that lived lives long, healthy and secure enough to bring new lives into the world. Because it was a whole new finding by the humans, some of the first few were experimented on, just like Tessla. But more were saved from the hands of ignorant scientists, and were brought up by governments and commoners alike. Humans studied the Independents and their attributes. Each and every one had different specialties – which could visibly be seen when you compared Vash and I – and most seemed to stop aging when they achieved the physical attributes equivalent to mid-twenties in a human's life. Quite a majority were absorbed into the military and several other branches corresponding to it. Not many have enjoyed a free life, with an exception of a few that were born by Plants owned by very powerful individuals.

The strange thing was, even though the Plants were producing asexually, there were a number of males that were born as well. There were no apparent traces or patterns on how, where or why they were born. This one mystery has haunted experts for the last century. A child born asexually should be a perfect clone of the mother, but every Independent was unique not only with its powers, but also in appearance. Plants mostly have the same looks, so why not share the same attribute with their offspring? No one knows the answer to that. Albeit the small quantity of males out there, almost all of Independents were born as females. It wasn't proven yet if Independents were able to bring out offspring, either sexually or asexually, or if they could cross-produce with humans. Issues regarding the males were even more shrouded in mystery, as not many were born.

Well, that got us into another freak-of-nature statistic. Don't you think so, Vash?

Chronica disclosed the fact that she was one of the majority that was raised by the government to assist the military. She is around the same age as I am, and had been with the fleet of ships from Earth, 'The Pieces of Earth' – the one that attacked me of course – for more than five decades; seen people around her come and go like the wind. Because of the longevity of Independents, they were paired together at every mission, so they would not come to feel too solitary with a companion of the same species. Because Chronica had lost her partner, she was given this task of 'taking care' of my brother and I. And she had so for almost a year. She gravely told me that when this mission of reviving Vash was accomplished, I will be separated from my brother and put into a cold sleep; indefinitely. And by then, I may be locked up forever…

Not that I'd ever let _that_ happen.

I smiled pleasantly at the female Independent at my side.

"Well, don't you want to eat? Or have you already eaten?"

Chronica smiled back; one of the few times I had ever seen her so relaxed around me.

"I'd be delighted to join the two of you for breakfast."

I grinned. "Great! I'll go and grab something to eat. I do hope we still have some of those canned scallops. I'm kinda getting sick of the goddamn microwaved morsels you called food." I treaded to Chronica and patted her shoulder, smiling still as I whispered to her, "I'll leave Vash in your able hands. Greet him properly, okay?" With that, I pottered my way out.

I glanced back to Vash's room. Chronica was pensively sitting next to Vash's prone body, lowly saying her hello and introducing herself to him. She was being very relaxed and laid back, with Vash at last out of the Convalesce Vessel. This may have been her first time meeting Vash face to face outside of his cold chambers. I could see that she was very elated with her foremost encounter with him.

Convinced that I was far enough from Vash's room, I wiped my hand onto the fabric of my cloths harshly, as if to clean it of invisible dusts along with a layer of my epidermis cells.

She wouldn't even notice if I was to come back later than I should.

----------------

Chronica was aiding me with my current task.

I flexed Vash's joints and moved his limbs, following a simulation on how to take care of a comatose patient. Moving his muscles avoided tissue degeneration as an outcome of them long left unused. The bio-stabilizer had done its work at keeping Vash's muscle tissues alive. Now it was my duty to give him his physical therapy so that he'd be able to utilize his limbs by the time he'd be up and about.

As I was flexing Vash's legs, Chronica was kneading Vash's arms. She had taken to find every justification possible to keep herself in this room, with Vash. Somehow she seemed really fond of my brother and would take any means whatsoever to be here. Maybe I should take back that little statement of her not being much of an annoyance.

I'd really like to be alone with Vash at some point of the day, thank you very much…

"You can't hog him all for yourself, you know."

She was giving me that I-know-what-you're-thinking-about look again.

While raising Vash's left knee upwards and bending it, I scowled. "I love my bro, and I want to spend some quality time with him. So if you don't mind, I'd really appreciate it if you leave me here with him. Only the _two_ of us."

"After I finish massaging Sleeping Beauty here. But I can't until I get more of this ointment. Be a dear and fetch some for me, okay?"

She haphazardly tossed the almost empty bottle in my general direction without even glancing, and I barely managed to catch it before it made contact with my nose. Lowering Vash's leg delicately onto the soft mattress, I glowered at the innocent container, and extended the dark look at the real culprit in front of me.

She continued with massaging her charge, paying no heed to me glaring at her accusingly.

I huffed like a little kid banned from playing with his favorite toy. "Yes, _Mother_. I'll get the fucking ointment refill. Where can I find it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Somewhere in the forty-seven cabinets of the medical room next door? Wait. Maybe it's still in the supply room. Or--"

"_Fine_. I'll go and leave you two to mingle. _Forgive me_ for being the unwanted third party," I exclaimed sardonically and trudged my way out. I could even _hear_ my tormentor chuckling as I left the room. One really sadistic Plant, if you ask me…

This may take longer than I think it would. And she made sure of that.

May as well use it to my advantage.

----------------

I fingered Vash's serene featurestracing his soft cheek up to his beauty mark, into his silky black hair. It had grown so long that if Vash stood, it would definitely brush past his waist. I combed some of the dark strands off his closed eyes, silently hoping, _hoping_, that those eyelids would flutter open if I did so. Logically that would be impossible, but it wouldn't hurt to have hollow expectations…

But when his eyes didn't even twitch, I felt a pang of something in my heart.

…no more hollow expectations for me then.

I wearily reclined intomy – _mine _only** –** chair next to Vash's bed, and placed my head on his chest, my eyes heavy with exhaustion. Even though I knew Vash couldn't hear me, I muttered my complaints to him, "Naa, Vashu. Chronica really is bothering our bonding time, right? She's really taken with you, do you know that? I dunno who I should be jealous of: you or she. I got to know her a lot longer than you, but you're the one she's being really nice with. Still, even if she didn't help you, I could do everything she did for you just the same… Hey, you know what? Even after six whole months of practically _living_ in this spaceship, I still can't really figure out the mazes in here. Took me a good three hours to find the right room and the right cabinet and the right bottle of ointment. I lost count of how many rooms and cabinets there are here after twelve and eighty-five, respectively. Chronica's getting really good at tormenting me. At least she's out for good now that I protested that I wanted to get some sleep. _Finally_."

I entwined our hands and fingers, just like I always did every time I transferred my powers to him.

"Sorry that I have to leave you that long. I… had something else that I have to do…"

Something that will keep us together, forever and ever…

"Sweet dreams, Vashu."

_Together… _

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_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE. _

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: _(twirls)_ _(twirls) (twirls)_ _(grabs on a suspended-in-mid-air-that-came-out-of-nowhere microphone and sing-sangs:)_ Noooot Miiiiineeee… _(then throws away the microphone and twirls and twirls and twirls…)_

Spoilers: **Vash's room number** when he was on the SEEDs ship. Dunno Knives' though. It was quite a pity. _(sighs)_ By the way, **Earth's Central Government **reallydoes exist in the manga (Trigun Maximum, ch 96, pg 16). And I could not resist **semi-quoting Knives** from Trigun Maximum, Vol 8, ch 1, pg 36. It's written as the last line of this chappie. Knives' conviction to do what he thinks is right was just as sturdy as his brother's faith in human kind. Talk about tragic! XD

Beta: **Alaena Night,** Daaai-Su-Kii! XD _(glomps Alaena-san and twirls her around)_

A/N: My longest installment yet! Wheeee--!! _(twirls around in merriment)_

_(Knives enters the monitor, and makes a face. It depends on the readers' imagination on how Knives handsome face twists when he sees a deranged human acting more deranged by the minute.)_ "She's definitely on crack. We didn't come to check for one chapter and she already went loco."_ (He blinks, then sweatdrops.)_ "…oi, Vash. What the hell are you doing…;;"

_(Vash being Vash joins in the fun and twirls with the author around the monitor in merriment.) (Knives being Knives tries to snatch Vash in mid-twirl, but gets dragged into twirling around the monitor as well, albeit VERY unwilling and very not merry. Not at all.)_

"LET. ME. **GO**Oooo---!"

_(And they continue to twirl around, much to Knives' dismay.)_

_(The author detaches herself from the twirling team, and lets Vash and Knives have fun twirling around on their own. Granted, that Vash is having fun, but Knives isn't…)_

Ahem. Sorry about that. After reading my old installments, I noticed that my **character developing skills** are kinda like ZERO to **NONE**, especially when it came to Chronica. So, I did a bit cleaning up and addition on this chappie. (The reason to why this particular chapter was kinda long for my standards. I just couldn't stop writing…;;) I may re-visit the older posts to upgrade them and clean them up a bit. MAYBE. Still have too much plans for my short semester break, unfortunately. (… TvT) Please guide me and give comments, my dear readers and friends! _(smiles and bows.)_

_(And promptly joins in the twirling team again.)_

"AAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!"

_(Poor Knives.)_

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 9**

----------------

I really, _really_ should get an extra bed in here… or change Vash's single bed with a double.

I stretched and yawned as I groggily woke up from my sleep. My back was killing me. Sleeping while crouching like this all the time was going to give me a serious case of osteoporosis…

"Go—hooo—ood—" _(yaaaaawn)_ "Huh… mornin', Vashu…"

My brother kept eerily still.

Bed, bed… Second choice sounded well, I thought as I absentmindedly curled Vash's long black mane around my fingers. I could sleep while holding onto Vash, just like when we were children; before we got our own separate rooms of course. I didn't understand why Vash insisted that at the age of ten months, he wanted his own room to sleep in. Moreover, in a desperate fit. Sleeping with me wasn't _that_ bad… Was it?

I scowled at Vash. "Hey. Remember, back then on the SEEDS ship, when you asked for a room of your own? Was I a bad sleeper, or did you just want some personal space?"

No reply came.

"I still couldn't believe my ears when you told Rem out of the blue that you wanted your own bedroom! We'd been sharing the same room ever since we were babies. Why the sudden change? And, moreover, you asked for room 104! That was just opposite of mine! Sometimes I just couldn't understand what you were thinking…"

I persistently griped some more to my unresponsive brother all the way to an attached bathroom.

Vash didn't give any riposte to my ranting.

----------------

"Ready?"

"Could you stop with the idiosyncrasy of asking me the same question over and over and over again?"

"That's a yes then."

I grunted in irritation. "Whatever."

Because we were doing Vash's transfer session outside of his cold chambers, Chronica brought along with her a portable mini-guide that was installed at her wrist. So any time she needed to release me from my suppressor, with a flick of her wrist, the hovering keyboard, complete with the holographic monitor would appear out of nowhere in front of her. Talk about convenient.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Pap. "There you go."

'….that's something new,' I thought as I felt my Gate's flow circling throughout my body. Feeling the power restraints lowered was still uncomfortable, as the sudden surge sometimes made me nauseous. Stretching my limbs a bit in a habitual manner to adjust with my power, I walked away from Chronica's side and I sat at the right of Vash's pillow. I casually raised Vash's upper torso, minding the wires attached to his left forearm, letting his head nestle on the junction of my left shoulder blade with my left arm around him and the hand of the same arm intertwined with his right, resting on his hip. I pulled his prone body along with me so I could lean my back onto the metal headboard of his bed, drawing him in a more intimate embrace.

I absentmindedly rubbed my free hand through his long flowing black hair, feeling the soft touches of the silky strands under my lips. I adjusted the position of his head so it would be in a more comfy placing, and idly wondered if Vash ought to wake up earlier so that I could give him a proper haircut. His hair was already in long flowing locks, extending just below his waist. Rem was right about his hair being slightly curly; it cascaded in ripples like waves, even in its black, unyielding dark shade, it was still beautiful…

This close propinquity with my bro was strangely cozy and really relaxing. I could only hope that I wouldn't fall asleep during this session. Maybe I should hold him close like this more often… Hm? Was that lavender oil I smelled?

"…What are you doing?"

Chronica had both of the eyebrows up her hairline. Which only meant that she was utterly taken aback by the change. My usual methods of transferring energy were grabbing onto Vash's hand and feed his Gate with my power and subsequently dive into his subconscious whilst still standing. And that didn't involve me acting all snuggly-like with Vash.

When I thought of it, the situation was kind of comical: A very dumbfounded Chronica was staring at a cuddling pair of Plant twins, one of which was infamous for being a psychotic, murderous sociopath and another one was still innocently unconscious in his coma. Ha ha.

Cradling Vash's tranquil face close to mine, I nonchalantly told her, "We're not in a hurry, right? The time limit applied before was because Vash's restricted period of being outside of the Goufhon's solution. Now that he's okay, I have no reason to rush anymore. Furthermore, crouching too much lately gave me one hell of a backache. This way is much more comfortable and practical. If you don't mind, I'm going to start now. Monitor his vitals, would you. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"You're absolutely positive about telling him today…?"

The hesitation in her voice, though faint, was eminent to my ears.

Chronica could be so much like an overprotective mother hen, especially when it involved her dear vulnerable Vash. Not that I'd ever voice out this particular fact. I didn't want to lose the liberty to see her squirm as I 'bully' her unwell 'child'. I snickered at that fiendish thought.

"Yes, _Mother_. I did my homework, so I know which cord to tweak on. And yes, I will crack the reality to him little by little, so he won't be in too much shock. And yes, I'll send to him your regards. I was planning to tell him about you too, anyway."

I threw a sheepish smile at her as good measure. Fake as it was, but as long it did its work…

Hearing Chronica let go a small sigh of relief, I knew I got her okay in this. I drew Vash even closer to myself, if it was even possible, letting my flow course through him. Sensing the tingling sensation of his mind opening up to me, I dived in.

And stood on the green and red planes that I had come to like and hate so much…

I took a deep breath.

I liked this place because this was a place only Vash and I could exist. One that only belonged to the two of us. One that had come close to the Eden I had been searching for…

The sweet smell of geraniums invaded my senses.

But I hated the fact that this was also a prison, where Vash couldn't get out by his own. That kept my dear brother away from me most of the time. That might be the cause of his death. That reminded me so much of that _woman_ that took him away from me…

I locked my eyes onto the blue sky.

Vash once told me, while lying on his back and pointing upwards to the high heavens, that my eyes were the color of the late afternoon sky, so blue and beautiful. Every day they'd be a different shade to look at, he said. At times, they were the most serene of sapphires, so calming to the eyes. Sometimes, they were austere azure, glooming with dark haze. But more often the blue was covered up by white clouds, the splendorous navy hiding behind them, not wanting to be noticed.

I was astounded with his comments, and asked to him of the meaning of what he said.

His reply was only a simple smile, and a change of the topic of conversation.

I never knew he could be so philosophical…

"What are you doing just standing there like a pole?"

I smirked. Vash indeed had reclaimed the insinuative side of his personality. What else could I wheedle out from him today?

His tears?

My countenance set firm and grim, and turned to stand facing my brother, who was grinning happily like always. But his smile was washed away when he has a clear view of me. Smiling shakily still, he nervously asked, "Hey, what's with the serious face? Is something wrong…?"

'Is it me?'

I could tell he wanted to ask me that particular question.

Such a pitiful creature, my brother was. Thought so little of himself, even now…

I took the few steps to him, and gazed deep into his misty turquoise orbs.

"Vash… This may hurt you, but the truth always hurts…"

----------------

"What exactly _happened_? His heart rate suddenly shot up in the middle of the session, so high it could lead to another relapse! Did you know how worried I was?" Chronica burst out as I regained consciousness.

I was a little stunned; that was the first time I ever seen her so panic-stricken. Cold sweat was running down her brow, and she was trying to steady her breathing. Since this was the first energy transfer ever made after Vash was taken outside of his Convalescence Chambers, I could understand that she was worried if complications would occur, just like what had taken place just a few minutes ago.

I looked down to Vash's face. The tear streaks were prominent; running down his cheek and between my fingers. Another sign that his psychosomatic status recovering well. I rubbed away the remnants of his tears, and hugged him closer, if it was possible.

"…He has a hard time accepting reality."

_"…you're kidding, right?" _

_"Am I…?" _

_Vash, seeming torn between acknowledging me or the ersatz paradise, smiling still in his disbelief. He staggered backwards from where we stood; those beautiful green spheres set an unsteady glaze at me, searching for hints of falsehood. _

_I stood my ground, not moving, the genuineness in my eyes fiery, unwavering; trying to convince him that I was telling the truth. _

_"You know that I couldn't lie to you." _

_That was the final blow. _

_Vash shook his head, the word 'No' repeatedly spewed through his quivering lips, grinning; trying to make sense of it all. "Aha…ha hah… this is one big practical joke you're pulling on me right? You're just makin' fun of me, right? Right…?" He shakily lowered his head, moaning pitifully, "… But… why… why do I feel… that everything you told me… was true…?" _

_He fell to his knees, and was reduced to wracking sobs. _

_I immediately jumped to his side, pulling him into a comforting hug. Letting him cry through his confusion, letting him clear his perplexity, letting him treat his hurt… _

_Silently promising to myself that I could never – _must_ never – make him cry like this ever again… _

"…Leave us."

My voice was thick with authority.

Chronica may have thought that listening to me once in her lifetime would be for the better, as she left without a word. She was pulling some understanding-mother crap out of her behind, leaving us alone with a situation such as this.

But I appreciated it nonetheless.

Because if she didn't, I'd _make_ her leave, one way or another…

----------------

It took some time for the tears to stop flowing down Vash's fallen features.

I had half a mind to never pull away from him. Just being there with him, hugging him close to me like this; it felt so _right_ that I wished – numerous times – I would never have to let him go. But I still need to comply with necessary biological urges.

Like going to the bathroom. Or eating. Or sleeping.

Eating was good. My stomach had been grumbling since seventeen minutes ago. But sleep sounded much better, with my eyes heavy with drowsiness after the energy transfer. However, I had more pressing matters to take care of…

Kissing Vash's brow with a mumble of 'sleep tight', I left his room for the archive. Peeking into the small window of the archive's door, I looked for a familiar figure in front of the numerous monitors, one known as Chronica.

I continued to look on for the next few minutes, seeing her shadows shift as she shuffled in her seat, seeing the muscles of her back move as she typed and stretched. Seeing her murmur to herself and then sigh out of exhaustion and stress. Seeing her face contorting as a million and one thoughts ran through her head. Seeing her focusing into finding a cure for Vash.

Seeing her in another view. Seeing her as a different person than I was first released almost half a year ago…

This person, who was almost as perfect as I, truly was an amazing woman. She alone had been here with us, waiting, guiding me in her own way, helping me in our mission of reviving Vash. She had kept to her promise; that she would never read my thoughts as long as I kept my end of the agreement. A very trustworthy woman, I must say.

Quite an outstanding feat, to say the least; to be one of the few to really catch my eye after all these years…

Resting my back onto the metal wall next to the door of the archive, I closed my eyes, letting my mind stray to one of those few civil dinners I'd had with her…

_"Vash may be returned to Gunsmoke." _

_"…" _

_I kept quiet, my eyes focused on my plate. I didn't have a clue of how the topic of discussion had been stirred this way. I was more concerned on finishing my dinner back then, but lost my appetite because of that one single statement. I poked onto the last remnant of my meal with my fork: A perfectly spherical fruit with the color of light green; generally known as a grape. A few shades darker, with more lucidity to its color, it would definitely compliment Vash's eyes… _

_"…and you would be put into cold sleep on this spaceship. In that… place where you were held in before. That was the decision made by the Council. The most lenient one in history, if you asked me. They have settled into keeping with Vash's last request, as agreed by the leaders of both Earth and Gunsmoke. But if Vash ever wakes up, they may have a change of heart…" _

_I kept my appearance somewhat inattentive, but I was digesting every single one of her words. So, reviving Vash would spell either fortune or disaster to me, and my life depended solely on the muses of humans. How… typical. _

_I prodded on the fruit, making small dents here and there on its surface. So that it would not be perfectly round anymore… _

_I could feel her gaze on me. "I could make a request to the Earth's Central Government about pardoning you, or at least giving you a less atrocious punishment. Even if I could never forgive you for what you did to Domina, you have proven yourself to be worthy and sensible, enough to be granted self-isolation on a designated planet, away from human civilization. But it would be almost impossible, since the crimes you've carried out –" _

_"What will happen to me does not matter." _

_I stopped playing with the little grape. _

_I knew that if I looked up, I would definitely see a very surprised Chronica; if the gasp I heard gave any inkling to her reaction to my interruption. I played around with the little round fruit some more, pushing it around the plate, my face blank of any emotion. _

_"I thank you for your concerns regarding me. But, our focus now is to revive Vash. I don't have to repeat myself again, right?" _

_I brushed off some of the annoying strands that consisted of my hair off my brow. It grew much faster now than before, as my degeneration process was kicking in full throttle. Usually I need a haircut around every year, at most. But now, it grows more than half an inch every month. I've already cut it twice before; I believe I'll be needing another one in a very recent future. Irksome. I didn't know how Chronica could put up with her hair being _that_ long… _

_"Knives…" _

_Hearing her voice laced with concern, even how diminutive it was, I was pleasantly startled. I at last looked at her in the eyes, peeking my eyes through my lashes, seeing the dismay, shrouded, but there nonetheless, in those sea-green depths; somewhat a bleached version of my brother's… _

_The color of grapes. _

_I smiled at her. _

_"I'm fine with it." _

_My fork cleanly pierced through the small grape. I lowered my eyes on the plate again, to see that my fork punctured the little fruit right at the middle. Perfectly aimed dead center, even when I wasn't looking at it. The juice flowed out through torn flesh, down onto the surface of the plate. Perfect. _

_I raised the grape into my mouth, slowly chewed on it as I replaced the fork on the plate. Closing my eyes, I felt the fruit being portioned into very small pieces by my teeth on my tongue, slowly tasting the sweet flavor, savoring it until the end. _

_When I tasted the bitter tang of grape's skin, I swallowed. _

_I still felt Chronica's awkward gaze on me. _

_I opened my eyes to an empty dinner plate. _

_"I have made up my mind." _

Such a pity. Just when I was getting to know her…

Convinced that she was too engaged with analyzing Vash's vitals and the recording of his consciousness, I made a beeline to the main control room.

The one place which I had never stepped into before.

'_I have made up my mind.' _

The plan was already in action.

_It shall take us back to peaceful times, Vash… _

----------------

_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

----------------


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Trigun and Trigun Maximum belongs to Yasuhiro Nightow. Du'uh.

Spoilers: TRIGUN vol 3, ch 4, pg 216-217.

Beta: **Alaena Night,** here's your (really, really, REALLY belated) Birthday present! XD

A/N: Edited it (AGAIN, for the trillionth time in SEVEN goddamned months. ...ToT) and out of the blue, rearranged a few whole paragraphs and added FOUR more pages; OVERNIGHT. Quite the reiteration of the previous chappie, I must say. I, for the sake of my life, could not comprehend why I tend to write more during EXAM periods... (must be _the Curse of the Exam Week for the Lazy... _TvT) Oh, well. Expect the next installment to be as lengthy as this one as well. In fact, maybe even longer. _(shrugs)_

Ah! BIG NEWS! Believe it or not, **Knives' eyes are not blue, but GREEN**!!! AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! _(went hysterical)_

It's TRUE! Just recently, when I closely inspected at the colored back cover of Trigun Maximum volume 8, I came to realize that the person that suspiciously resembled Vash was actually Knives! With that blond hair and green eyes, who wouldn't get confused!?_ (was genuinely shocked)_ If you don't believe me, click the **picture link I posted on my profile**, and see with your own eyes of the _truth_! And this fic is supposed to be based on the manga, but I referred to Knives as he is commonly known in the anime: one with silver blond hair and cold blue eyes... As the Trigun manga-version lover, how can I make this mistake!? NUUOOOOOO!! _(over-dramatizes the whole situation)_

_(Vash pops out of nowhere, yet again, and animatedly states out, adorably tapping his balled fist onto his mechanical palm.)_ "Ooooh! So in the usually-black-and-white picture books, Knives really do look like me! We really are identical twins then! All this time, I thought that we were only look-alike siblings! Man, what a revelation!" _(He cutely beams, then stills; processes the new information while massaging his chin in his habitual "Is-Thinking" pose.)_

_(Then, a few minutes later, with small sweatdrops rapidly going down the back of his neck, still smiling, he sneaks a nervous glance at the author who was currently mumbling inarticulate language while poking on invincible dirt on the floor.)_ "...then the probability of me going psycho like my bro did went up by a few notches, huh..?"

By 503.56745672, yes... _(and the author keeps poking and pressing the 'answer' key on the scientific calculator that, like everything in this alternate 'Author's Note' world did, surfaced out of nowhere; or rather, out of the floor. And continues her mourning of the 'Knives-has-blond-hair-and-green-eyes... Knives-has-blond-hair-and-green-eyes... Knives-has...')_

_(Knives steps in and jabs at the weeping form on the floor that is the author with the heels of his shoe. A grimace graces his handsome face.)_ "Oi. Stop sniveling on the floor like the dog you are. Not that I aren't pleased with the fact that you have ultimately understood where your place is; it's just very unsightly for my dear brother to see. ... Why are you looking at me like that, Vash..?"

_(Vash sniffles with tears beading down to the fisted hands on his face, distancing himself inches by inches away from his recently-confirmed twin. Knives voiced a jumbled 'o..oi...bro?' at Vash, and Vash answers by running away, with his tears trailing him, howling all the way to NeverNeverLand(?),)_

"NUUUUOOOOOO! _JE NE VEUX PAS ÊTRE COMME LUUUIIIIIIIIII!_ (I DUN WANNA BE LIKE HIIIIM!) _MAMAAaaaan--!_"

"(O.o) ..."_ (twitch)(twitch)_ "...Vashu, why in the god that is Me are you brawling in _French_..?" ((With reference to TRIGUN, the manga vol 1 and the anime ep 5. XD ))

_(And with that, dear crying-and-runnin-away-from-reality Vashu-chan leaves one puzzled, eye-twitching so-called psycho-of-a-twin gaping at his disappearing-and-still-howling brother, with another lamenting psycho that is still poking on the floor.)_

_(The psychosis of the whole situation is kinda hilarious, duncha think? XD )_

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 10**

----------------

This was it. The moment I have been waiting for my whole, whole existence...

Pristine emerald orbs slowly fluttered open, misty in their haziness. Full lips opened and closed, as if soft words were trying to escape from them. I traced the quivering lips with my thumb, muttering somewhat inarticulately about him not needing to speak. Long fingers were moving in my other hand, clutching onto it. As if to verify his existence. To verify that I was really by his side...

Our eyes met. The haze in his pretty sea green orbs lifted.

... To verify that, this time around, I never would have to leave him again.

He smiled.

He smiled the most beautiful smile that I have ever seen for almost two centuries. The one smile I have never seen ever since I ripped off that innocent part of him by commencing the Big Fall. The smile he bestowed upon me when we were still unsullied little Plantlings. The one true smile that I have missed so, so much...

My heart fluttered in exhilaration, in ecstasy, in elation, as the most important person to me, at last... at last... came back to me...

_Returned_... to _me_...

I smiled in reply to his.

"Welcome back, Vashu."

----------------

"_Knives..."_

_His hot breath descended on my chest._

_Vash was trembling, as if he was cold. I pulled him in a more powerful embrace, trying to give my body heat to him. But how could I do just that? My body didn't even exist here... _

_Vash was still shivering._

_I softly patted his head, trying to calm his distressed heart. Trying to ease his suffering. Trying._

"_Hmm...?" was my only reply._

_No. Him feeling cold must have not been the only reason._

_I looked up and around us._

_The red geraniums have withered into the brown color of death. The russet petals, dipped in bereavement of a lost heaven, waved about us, as if to warn us of something, as if not allowing us to leave. The sky has calamity written all over it; thunderclouds darkening dreadfully as time ticked by, flickering their ghastly lightning at an increasing pace. The endless horizon was as dark as black holes, gradually inching nearer, closing in on us. The ground has terrible, deep fissures surrounding us. I almost fell into one as I rushed to the side of a manifestly terrified brother of mine, quivering on the ground and hugging himself like a frightened little child... _

_Yes. That was it. He was frightened. Terrified, even._

_I felt the rumble of his Adam's apple as he spoke again._

"_I... remember..."_

_I soothed his hair and kissed the crown of his head, silently encouraging him to continue._

"_I... I remember... you... in the past... have done terrible... terrible things to me..."_

_I closed my eyes tightly. That was the truth, and I have no desire to lie to the one closest to my heart. I just... I didn't want him to leave me again because of those old memories. Not after what we've been through. Not after what _I've_ been through..._

_I felt his cold fingers touching my cheek. Slowly, I opened my eyes._

_He was smiling._

"_I... understand..."_

_That one word was the answer to everything._

"_Take me with you..."_

_An ominous thunder flashed above us. The heavens, warning us not to leave. Warning me to not steal its only inhabitant away._

"_Take me... with you..."_

_The deathly geraniums waved their goodbyes._

----------------

"Is this okay with you?"

I was feeding Vash with liquidized chow by spoon. It was common sense that after not eating for a long period of time, the body will spontaneously reject solid food. And being comatose for six years will do just that. The same rule followed me when I was freshly 'reborn' at Juneora Rock. However, when I was able to even stride down a cliff back then, Vash on the other hand has yet to master the movements of his limbs, much less picking up a spoon. Even so, he has insisted that he could feed himself, but I would not let him. He woke up less than three days ago, and his muscles were still weak. Well, he could just forget his pride for a little bitand let his big brother here pamper him once in a while. Isn't pampering a sickly, albeit noisy, little brother what a big brother would properly do?

"Mm-hmm. Though, I miss my donuts."

I grimaced. Pamper him, I would; but not when it comes to things that could worsen his already frail body. "...That excuse-of-a-food is going to give you cavities. Open your mouth wide."

He pouted. "You don't need to baby me, you know. And I've been eating doughnuts all my life. I never got any tootha- MMPH."

Hn. Shoving the spoon into his mouth when he spoke high vowels like 'A's and 'I's did do its job at keeping his mouth shut. I would have never thought that it would be so much fun playing on my brother like this. He made such a cute face when he was swallowing while pouting like that; I smirked inwardly at that thought. Feeling up to being the sadistic brother Vash has always labeled me of, I picked up another spoonful of chow, and schooled the most sarcastic expression I could conjure. "Finished with your ranting? Another food delivery by Woof-Jet aircraft is coming your way. Say aaaah."

He sulked horrendously, with a bit of pink coloring his face. "Please don't embarrass me any more than necessary, Knives..."

I lowered the spoon so that I could look at him in the eyes, the edges of my lips creeping upward. I love my sadistic streak, especially when implemented in my brother. "Hm? Why not? There's only the two of us here, brother. And brothers shouldn't be embarrassed of each other. Now, open wide."

That was about the time I heard the low "A-hem" and soft knocking on the room's metal door panels. My eye twitched. Greeeeeat. The fifth wheel came for a visit again... No wonder Vash was reddening by the seconds.

I could hear the amusement in her voice. "How are you feeling, Vash-kun? Does the food serve to your palate?"

Still pinking away, Vash slowly replied while picking on his starch-white blanket, "I'm fine, except when my good-for-nuthin' bro just couldn't stop teasing me." Vash pointedly glared at me with that comment. I not-so-silently harrumphed in reply. He turned his head to face Chronica, smiling a grateful smile. "The food is okay, I guess. Thank you for asking. How was your day, Chronica-san?"

"Nothing much. Just monitoring your progress from the archive. If you follow through the current diet, you can start on semi-solid food in less than five days. That would be a nice change, don't you think so?" Throughout her chatter, she sauntered from the door to Vash's bed, helping herself to the extra chair beside me, and beaming that sickly sweet smile I have never seen before she started talking with Vash.

Vash was practically glowing. "Really? I could?"

Chronica was still smiling. "Absolutely. As long as you finish the course without breaking the rules, your stomach will definitely be able to digest solid food in four weeks time. Of that, I promise you. So, what do you think about..."

My left eye was twitching. See? How they absolutely disregarded my existence when they start speaking with each other? Ever since they met a couple of days ago, they became instant best friends. I could see why Chronica was acting this way – it would appear that she was enjoying the fact that I'd fume whenever she starts talking to Vash – but I could not comprehend the fact that Vash was following her suit. Now, _I'm_ the one feeling like the fifth wheel...

Two minutes and sixteen seconds of non-stop prattle between the two of them was enough to make me seethe; _pout_ wouldn't fit well with my personality, though I felt like one was impending if they keep disregarding me. I was only listening to the silences between their exchanges, bidding for the best time to interfere.

"Miss Chronica. Do you mind? I am feeding my brother here. If you really want to see him well and healthy in the expected period of time, wouldn't it be better if he finishes his meal _before_ bombarding him with one thousand and one questions?"

Chronica turned her heat to look at me, smiling still, acting _mockingly_ polite, I must stress. "Ah, I'm so sorry. It's just that Vash wasn't really minding me talking with him. Are you, Vash?" and turned to look at Vash expectantly, stars twinkling, along with that fake grin of hers.

"Of course not!" was Vash's cheerful reply.

Damn manipulator. She _knew_ that I couldn't say 'no' when Vash was cutely beaming like that.

Understanding that grumbling to myself will get me nowhere, I placed the bowl of chow on a bedside cabinet and replaced it with an apple and a fruit knife. Yesterday, I was searching for food supplies suitable for Vash's condition in the cold storage area when I found a small crate of dozen-or-so dry-frozen apples by chance, which I brought along to Vash's room. Slowly peeling the dull-red skin away, I absentmindedly recalled Vash made a big fuss about wanting to eat the extremely rare fruit, which only grows on Earth. Smiling guiltily, Chronica gave a side-comment about the apples has been in storage for a few decades, and should still be edible after restoring it, but reminded Vash that he still could not consume solid food for the time being. The freshness of the fruit was yet to be determined, hence I was not-so-voluntarily nominated as the quality tester. Their two votes won over mine. No wondering why I hated democracy: it disadvantages the minority. Cutting a half-quarter of the fruit and popping it into my mouth, I concluded that this second sample was also up to the quality range I premeditated. I gloomily glowered at the chatting-with-each-other-and-totally-ignoring-me pair. Better entertain myself with something before I snap, I figured as I munched on the apple at a snail's pace, a small piece at a time.

Not to start myself into wallowing about how Chronica and Vash have teamed up and plotted some wicked plan to pull my leg around and prod me with the "you're the fifth wheel here" stick, I pondered about the happenings of late while my mouth was working on the apple. I became aware of the fact that Chronica _loved_ to be about Vash, ever since he was still in his Convalesce Chamber. She would sometimes stop by whenever she was sure that I wouldn't be around – especially when I slept like a log after each energy transfusions – and just stand there, staring at Vash with vacant eyes. How was I to know? I made it a habit to browse through Vash's vitals and visual recording of that time period when I was unconscious, just to make sure no complications has taken place. Out of three recordings, two would have her standing there, roughly seven-point-four-three feet in front of Vash's vessel, gazing passively at his face. Just _staring_ at him, and nothing more; that was the sole reason why I didn't confront her of that affair. As long as Vash was still safe and sound, I didn't have the motive stop her from doing so. She was our valued 'host' of this ship, after all.

Then, when Vash was safely out of his damn cylinder imprisonment, Chronica would cook up every excuse in existence and made sure that she would _never_ leave Vash's side if she didn't have to. I could write every one of them down and make a five-volume 357-page-per-book anthology of "The Greatest I-Want-to-Stay-Here-and-I-_Will_-Stay-Here-No-Matter-What-You-Say Excuses". And yes, I was being _sarcastic_.

And now, her fixation on Vash went to another level. Except for the two-hour interval that she had to stay and work in the archive everyday – I had taken one of those portable persocoms units and installed it in Vash's room ever since he was out of the Gouhfon's solution; it has been of rare occurrence for me to go back there since – she'd spend most of her free time, here, chatting with Vash. And all the while she was doing a very _splendid_ job at doing what she does best; yes, that's right: _getting under my skin_. Making me irritated to no end has been in her must-accomplish list of the day. Every single day, that is.

But in truth, I didn't mind her being with us. I couldn't care less if she was here with us the whole time. Ever since Vash woke up, her attitude was somewhat... more acceptable. Her smiles was a normal occurrence now, though a little more sardonic when the smile was meant for me. Would still piss me off, but nonetheless easier on the eyes compared to her previous expressionless ones. She has 'loosened up', as the saying went. At some point, I even enjoyed the time we spent together, like this, only the three of us. Just like... like...

A family.

... Where in-heaven-and-earth-that-are-mine did _that_ came from?

Pushing aside that ghastly thought and the nausea that came with it, 'Whatever the situation is', I stressed to myself, 'I'd _never_ give up on dominating Vash-and-me-only time.'

Gotten bored of being left out and thinking too much, even more so after I have effectively polished off the apple, I groused out at the animatedly chatting Chronica, left eye twitching, "You should at least let him–" and _me_ "–finish the meal in peace. I don't want him to get indigestion because he was talking–" to _you_ "–while eating."

Oh, how much I disliked that snicker. "_You_ were talking with him while he was eating before. Didn't hurt him."

"She's right, yanno."

"Whatever..."

I. Am. _Not_. _Pouting_. In. Front. Of. _Her_.

An amused chuckle from my side had lifted me off my "now I'm _really_ feeling like the fifth wheel" reverie.

Chronica was smiling at me.

This time, it was the pleasant smile she had always given so freely to Vash; now presented to me.

Maybe her being here was not half-bad after all.

"If you can't have me sitting here, you may leave and let _me_ do the feeding. Pass the bowl to me please"

"Ahh..! Not you too, Chronica-san--!"

A vein in my forehead popped. My left eye was twitching non-stop.

I take that back. Along with everything nice I have said and/or thought of her.

"_Never_."

After just a few seconds, the sounds of loud crashing, then followed by shouts and laughter filled up the room.

----------------

"How is your body feeling?"

"Fine. Just a bit cold, I guess. From the bath."

After making sure that Vash was warm and snugly wrapped all around in his blankets except for his head and damp hair, with a "Stop babying me, Knives--!" from my ever-protesting brother, I rubbed the moisture off from between the strands with a fluffy white towel. As much as I could, anyway. His long locks, seemingly curlier by the minute, were doing really well at keeping themselves wet.

Maybe I should borrow Chronica's hairdryer.

Scratch that. I'm _never_ going to _her_ for _any_ reasons whatsoever for the next few millennia. Not before she gets down on her knees and begs for my forgiveness for dousing me with that nutrient drink. The damn liquid got into my eyes, and how it _stung_. "Really, brother. You of all people should know that your own room is not the right place to start a food fight. Thank goodness that none of the electrical equipments got damaged in the process. Took us quite a while to clean up the mess. And what are you giggling about?"

The reply I got was more giggling. "Well, from my point of view, you looked like you were enjoying it. Chronica-san too. In the end, both of you made good practice targets out of each other. How 'adult' people like the two of you could turn out being so childish."

I huffed indignantly in my wounded pride. "She started it first. Never thought she'd upturn the whole tray onto me when she managed to get her hands on it."

Vash leaned upwards, and was looking at me with these excited puppy eyes. Then, came that deriding grin. I _knew_ that expression of his; I braced myself for impact.

"Hey, Knives... You and Chronica-san really are _very_ close. Are you _dating_ her?"

_That_ the most far-fetched statement I have _ever_ heard of from _his_ lips, ever since I last heard him spouting his incorrigible "Love and Peace" motto around Gunsmoke. I gagged, and coughed and sputtered as I felt –to my horror– warmth creeping up my cheek. "W-Why should I be?" I rubbed harder on Vash's curls, and increasing in vigor at every syllable. "She's prideful, stuck-up, conceited, arrogant, pretentious, gaudy, snobbish, ostentatious, disdainful, supercilious, condescending, patronizing, and. Downright. _Pompous_!"

"Just like you!" Vash sing-sung.

"_Not!_"

I wheezed a little after that last statement. Taking a deep breath, I continued with the Chronica-degrading sermons, my hands combing up and down and through his tresses with the towel, "What's more, even if she _is_ female by genetic coding, there is not a single strand of feminine cell in her! She doesn't even _act_ feminine! Not even by a _micron_! What more, _you_ are much prettier than she is! Which makes me, your _near-identical twin_, _prettier_ than _she_ is! Why should I like a woman that is _less_ of a woman than _myself_?? And you. How could you slap the food that you should be eating all over your dear brother's handsome face?"

A snort, and a giggle erupted that bordered to a snigger. "I just didn't want to waste the food. And Chronica-san was right about you being a narcissist."

Another huff. "What's wrong with being one? And never associate me with her ever again. I'm never going to forgive her for making me take another shower tonight."

And a real snigger this time. "This is the good ol' I-am-God-bow-to-me Knives all right."

Unable to suppress my own snickers –Vash's laughter was very infectious– I pressed harder on his head, lowering it to get more access to the scalp at his back of his head. "Now, _you_ bow to me. I need finish drying off your hair so that you and I can both get our beauty sleeps."

Obediently chinning down, he leisurely snuggled deeper into his sheets, hiding his face away, his voice muffled by layers of fabric.

"...I never realized how much I missed hearing your laughter until I heard it..."

I frowned, but kept my hands busy.

_How it stung..._

"...I laugh all the time."

Even with the blankets covering the lower half of his face from view, I could almost see the bittersweet smile gracing his lips by the sad curve of his eyes. As if he didn't hear me, as if he was stuck in his own little musings, Vash spoke on with the airiest of voices,

"...yes. It was since _that_ time..."

He closed his eyes.

"How long has it been, since we first met Tessla...?"

My hands stilled.

Hugging onto his legs under his blankets and inclining his head on top of his knees, he closed his eyes and continued, "She must have been really lonely, being in there all alone. I understood how she felt; being in almost the same situation as she did. But at least I'm still alive. And I've got you with me. But she..."

With steady hands, I put the towel on the empty chair behind me, and immediately pulled him into the mightiest hug I could muster, while minding about his body still being so frail...

Gazing deeply into those woeful turquoise depths, I declared with a steeled voice, "...It will never happen again. I've promised you, brother. You, of all, should understand."

_Face, tear-soaked. Fingers, trembling. Legs, wobbly after a wave of panic attacks. Warm helping hands, irately slapped away by shaky arm. Sob after sob, incomprehensible muttering erupted from pale lips, muffled by the knees on which it was buried into. Another pair of knees, steadily positioned in front of clenching toes, patiently waited on the flower-laden grounds. Patiently._

_The long wait was at last awarded when warm hands placed on shuddering shoulders were not shook off, and was let to be there._

"_You must understand, Vash. I will never let the same thing happen to you, or any of our kin, so that's why..."_

Those eyes lit up again, back to its merry old self, arching. Vash raised his head; that beautiful smile he bestowed onto me for the second time in these three days was dazzling.

"I do, brother... I've told you so, haven't I?"

As if to ease my troubles away, Vash gently thread his fingers through my hair, gently smoothing on the strands, gently easing my apprehensive self; gently smiling my worries away. Gently.

That was it. I've just convinced myself that I _do_ suffer from a chronic brother complex, yet again. I was in bliss, only at being able to coddle with Vash like when we were children. But something wasn't right with the settings...

"Owwowooow, Knives--! You're pulling on my hair!"

Ah. Right. _That_. I kept forgetting the fact that he now has four-foot long hair attached to his scalp, and I was literally sitting on it. I halfheartedly stood up and looked down at Vash while he stared in amazement as he realized the extensive length of his pitch-black mane. He looked like he couldn't believe the fact that his hair had grown to be so long, as he still sustained his memories of being in his fake Eden, and there, he maintained his spiked locks in its full glory the whole time.

Also, because the outcome of darkening of an Independent's hair was infinitely irreversible, I was still in charge of transferring my energy to him, even after he has already awakened from his coma. His Gate was stabilized, but it still needed small doses of energy every now and then to keep it alleviated, just like how a drinker constantly needs alcohol. To do so, Chronica made a small leak on my suppressor, so it would be possible for little amounts of my energy to flow out. But as the energy required for the transfer was adequately minuscule, the darkening effect of my own tresses was gratifyingly slow. Slow enough for Vash to not notice the changes. That only three-quarter of my tresses retained its pale-blond color, and the black speck was gradually expanding by the days.

"_We must make the smallest sacrifice possible at the given time."_

Whoever implanted those enlightening words in my psych really deserved some credits.

I snickered at Vash's awe-filled face. "Want me to help you with that?"

Then, I noticed something strange. He wasn't looking at his slightly damp mane with wonder, but more in reminiscence...

It clicked in my mind.

That_- that_ _woman_...

_That's it_. How could I forget..? _She_ too has long, flowing hair; dark as the deepest space itself. And that smile that deceived us all...

I saw red. My past and present came crashing together, jumbling my thoughts. Don't tell me he's going to keep his own lengthened strands just in the _memory_ of _that woman_? That would be disgusting! But I could not make myself to hate his elongated mane, because whether I liked it or not, it was also the extension of my brother. Nothing of my brother would be anything to loath about. Just his supposed motives of keeping his hair did.

While I was battling my reasons of whether to let Vash keep his long locks, or cut it off whilst he was asleep, Vash stonily spoke out, "Yeah. It's kinda annoying, seeing it long like this. I don't like it. I don't like it, a _lot_." He looked up and into my eyes, the distant depth of his orbs vaguely unnerving. "Cut it for me, will you, Knives? Like, _now_, please?"

I was slightly taken aback with the despise in his voice, on his face, in his eyes. He seemed to be growing in unrest with the discovery of his lengthened mane, gazing at it with mounting hatred.

And I smiled.

I leaned down, and using both of my hands, I wiped away the strands of dark hair covering my brother's beautiful turquoise orbs, and entwined my fingers between the wisps of silky mane. Resting my forehead on his, I gazed deep into his emerald depths, and spoke with the most understanding and considerate voice that I could muster:

"Anything for you, dear brother. Anything for you..."

I reached out for the fruit knife I placed on the side cabinet with one hand, and mussed on his long hair with the other, snickering as Vash grumbled loudly about how I should not threat him like a kid. Well, I can only do so for that one last time...

I was more than happy to oblige to his request.

I smirked.

_The plan is now in motion._

----------------

_TURN TO THE NEXT EPISODE._

----------------


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Trigun and Trigun Maximum belongs to Yasuhiro Nightow.

A/N: In this episode, the narration was changed to third person viewpoint in Chronica's POV.

----------------

After The End of All

**Part 11**

----------------

"Ah. You're up. About time."

Chronica forced her muddled mind to work.

The sound of engines running, of metals banging onto metals, pierced through her ears. The siren was blaring onto her eardrums, warning her that _something_ had indeed gone wrong. Except for the miniscule glow from the monitors, the lighting was so dim, she could barely see anything; except for the door, from which light flooded into the containment.

She groaned and shakily pushed herself off the cold floor, cradling her head as she slowly rose; vaguely pondering on how everything had came to this.

She had never expected to wind up like she was now.

But she wasn't concentrating on her surrounding, nor herself. Her eyes were strained on the person shadowing the entryway; on that one face that she has grown attached to. To trust.

Maybe even love.

Knives smirked down at her.

"Do you really think that I would ever give my brother to those incompetent humans, now do you?"

Chronica looked up into his eyes, horrified.

She was absolutely terrified of delving into those cold blue depths, so foreign to her. Engulfing her.

"A fool. Just like all of them."

The noises were getting more distant. Those eyes were slowly, slowly, blocked away from her view by the large metal door.

_Oh, god._

----------------

_((10 HOURS, 20 MINUTES, AND 44 SECONDS BEFORE THE EVENT))_

"Sleep tight now, both of you."

The replies that she got was a bouncy "Good night to you too, Chronica-san!" and a grumpy "Yeah, yeah. Now go away."

Anyone could easily figure out who said what.

Walking down the empty, cold corridor of her current workplace –too empty, too cold– she let her thoughts wander to the interesting two brothers she was designated to baby-sit for the past year.

They had just shared dinner in Vash's room, just like any other nights. Knives, as always, was acting more of the overprotective big brother –_self-acclaimed_, that is, as none of the two really knew who the elder was; Vash merrily told her as Knives hollered 'Oi, Vashu! Why did you have to tell _that_ to _her_!?' as he literally stomped his way into the room from his short visit to the loo– and didn't let Vash feed himself, adamant about Vash needing to rest more and move less. Vash was, in the other hand, insisted that he could do everything on his own, and he should at least do the minuscule exercise of _feeding himself_. Granted, it has been more than seven weeks since Vash woke up from his coma and was doing well with his physical therapy. Of course Knives would be there to help him out, not missing a beat at assisting his brother. But, when he was in bed, his brother wouldn't let him lift a finger, not even moving his arm to do the vital biological works of _eating_.

Thus, they ended up arguing.

_Every single time. _

And not only that. They also argue about the weirdest things. Such as: the limit Knives set on how high Vash should lift his arm, or the fact that Knives brought his bed into Vash's room, or what type of soap Vash should be using, or Knives' strange fixation on red wines, or why Vash's shirt should be the color of bottle green rather than crimson red, or why-in-holy-spaceships-and-space did Knives insisted that they should even bathe _together_. Such stubborn brothers; to be at loggerheads about such ridiculous matters.

As an observer of their tireless tirade, I could understand that Knives was just being the overprotective brother of an unwell Vash. Though, he may have taken his obsession on perfection at everything he does a little bit further with the must-bathe-together issue.

Still, those moments were hilarious to witness, to say the least.

She smiled in her reminiscence.

Ten minutes into ambling down the various corridors, simply by instincts as she has been walking to and fro Vash's room for the past two months, Chronica stopped dead in her track when she realized that she walked past her the door of her room. Again.

How thinking of those two made her forget about everything else...

Chronica sighed as she smiled. If one looked closely, anyone could witness the pure, honest bond between them.

Knives was genuinely concerned for his brother. Half a year of agonizing; half a lifetime of waiting; a whole life worth of redemption. He was going to pay them back to Vash, a hundred fold. He pampered him, keeping Vash warm with layers and layers of blankets, helped him through all those rehabilitation and treatments; giving his all into loving him again.

Vash was faintly reluctant to be smothered by his brother's overassertive care; insisted that he could take care of himself. But he was very happy to be receiving every bit of that love, nonetheless. And he replied by relenting to those pampering, letting Knives smother him with the not-so-comfy blankets, and help him; even when his pride and lips said no. He even let Knives sleep in his bed, even with a second bed just three feet away from his.

This love between siblings does root much deeper than anyone could imagine...

Punching in her identification code, her door opened up to a cozily large room, lightly furnished with a king-sized bed at a side and wall-attached desks with a complementary chair. Two doors could be seen: one would lead to an attached bathroom and the other was a walk-in closet. The room was sparsely adorned with few belongings that consisted of reading books and small trinkets; a star-adorned mug that Domina gave to her as her 150th birthday present, a Thank-You card colored and signed by Vash –and much to her amusement, Knives also left a hasty signature on a small corner of the card, right under Vash's– and other little items that were miniscule to others but held so much importance to her. But her favorite about her room have to be the full-sized window with the expanse of the room's whole length; opening up her room to the excellent view of the universe. She loved it. She could easily unwind in her room while silently watch the twinkling silver dots of far away stars.

But she knew that she was undeniably growing more and more attached to Vash –and Knives'– small, windowless room...

_LOG ENTRY (Stardate Year 0021. February 13th. 22:34:26.):_

_Yet another uneventful day. Knives was levelheaded as usual, and he proved by himself that he is able to care for another; at least his brother. He didn't show any signs of false camaraderie, thus I did not scan though his brainwaves; there was no need for me to peruse his thoughts. He may needs some counseling on temper management, but in overall, he shows excellent signs of possible redemption: he may be able to accept the human race. But this is only possible, as I stress again, that his brother were to be at his side all the time._

_Vash is also healing well and showing signs of improving psychosomatic status. Vash's necessitate for the Gouhfon's bio-stabilizer has reduced by 86.45 since four weeks ago as his cells has adapted into self-regeneration. In general, he is improving well, both physically and psychologically. _

_A replacement Flow source for Vash is still undiscovered. None of the samples available on board synchronizes with his. He still needs his brother's Gate to keep alive. The leak on Knives' suppressor was, indeed, the best approach to Vash's predicament._

_It is still too early for them to be separated, especially with Vash's unstable condition. But the decision of the Council is absolute._

_Vash will be transported to Earth at 0900 tomorrow._

_END OF LOG ENTRY (Stardate Year 0021. February 13th. 22:45:15.)._

She didn't have the will to pack up.

With glazed eyes, Chronica looked on outside of her window at the silver dots she liked so much.

Ignoring the single silver droplet that fell onto her lap.

"_Install this into your memory, Chronica. The decisions made by the Central Government's Council are absolute. They are the law. They are the basis that unified us all. You must never –I repeat, _never_– oppose them. Do you understand?"_

Chronica clenched onto the pastel sheets of her bed, and closed her eyes in resignation.

_The decision of the Council is absolute._

"I'm so sorry, Vash..."

More silver droplets fell through her long blond lashes onto the chalk-white of her blanket.

_I'm so sorry..._

_Knives..._

----------------

"_Naa... I know that we're doing this for the best, but I still feel guilty though... What about Chronica-san?"_

"_Oh? So you'd rather be separated from me for all eternity?"_

"_Of-- of course not! But... Couldn't we at least talk to her? I mean, she's a Freeborn like us right? She'd understand, won't she..?"_

"_...your ability to trust others so easily never ceases to amaze me."_

"_Eh..?"_

"_..."_

"_...Knives?"_

"_Let's go, brother..."_

----------------

_((04 HOURS, 07 MINUTES, AND 36SECONDS BEFORE THE EVENT))_

She could not sleep.

Chronica has somehow stored away her meager, but precious belongings in a small duffle bag. Somehow.

The remnants of her tears were all but gone.

The stun gun was safely installed into her wristlet, ready to be used when needed.

She steeled herself and stepped out into the cold passageway

Leaving away a vacant room behind, forever.

----------------

_((01 HOURS, 59 MINUTES, AND 42 SECONDS BEFORE THE EVENT))_

The transport shuttle was booted up and all set for departure at the given time. All the information regarding their unfinished research until now was loaded into the shuttle's virtual drives to be resumed by the scientists on Earth. The holding area –a familiar cold cylindrical vessel, has been readied for its previous inhabitant.

Chronica sat still in her seat of the archive, her gaze blank as the hologrammed monitors vanished one by one, until there was none left. The only light source inside the room was the luminous keyboards under her fingertips.

The preparation was complete.

Now, all she needed were the two brothers.

She could not delay the inevitable anymore.

She blearily stood up, her eyes focused on the keyboards. Then on one empty seat; customarily occupied by Knives, until his brother was out of his Convalescence Chamber.

"_What will happen to me does not matter."_

'...'

Maybe she should re-check the shuttle; make sure that it was in excellent working condition.

For a second time in one hour.

As she ambled her way to the docks, a shadowed figure looked on from a corner. When she had made a turn on the other end of the corridor, the figure sauntered to the archive door, vaguely taken aback when the door automatically opened.

"...This is way too easy. She should have locked this door, the very least."

The shadow sighed and walked in, letting the door shut close behind him.

Through the little pane of the door, the lights of the archive came back to life

----------------

_((01 HOURS, 05 MINUTES, AND 13 SECONDS BEFORE THE EVENT))_

She stood, unmoving in front of the twins' room.

The brothers would definitely not want to be separated. Her years of training have prepared her for the worse case scenario. The trigger to the stun gun was readied under her pointer finger.

All she needed to do now was to walk past that door. Easy, right?

...no.

The hand that held the stun gun shook slightly. Cold sweat ran down her smooth brow. Her heartbeats became more erratic by the seconds.

"_They are the law. They are the basisc that unified us all."_

_The decision of the Council is absolute._

Tightening the grip on her gun, collecting her thoughts together, and donning her friendliest –if not fake– expression, she took another step forward. The door opened automatically, as she spoke out, "Vash, good morning. Want to--"

"It's always Vash this, Vash that. Call out my name every now and then, would you?"

Before she had the time to look at _the_ person behind her, in her shock, something small and sharp was swiftly embedded into the back of her neck, and a sensation of extreme drowsiness immediately consumed her. Her falling like deadweight onto the floor was broken halfway by a pair of strong arms, which immediately raised her up into a bridal lift.

"I'd be very envious if you kept saying his name all the time. Did you know that?"

Hazily perceiving a small smile on the face that had became so familiar to her, she lost consciousness.

----------------

_((17 MINUTES, AND 14 SECONDS BEFORE THE EVENT))_

Knives smirked down at her.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead. I can see dark rings under your eyes. You didn't even sleep last night, did you? Is the prospect of executing your task today really that nerve-wrecking?"

He was coolly leaning onto on the door pane, arms crossed around his torso, shifting a little so that it would be easier for him to look at the outline of a person jerking and moving oh-so-slowly on the floor.

Chronica groaned as she tried to focus the gears in her brain into working. She dimly remembered her supposed mission of the day, up to walking into Vash's room.

Vash's _empty_ room.

Then everything clicked together.

"Yeah. You got it right. We've found out about your plans."

With her eyes and body still heavy with lethargy, she forced herself sit up, and look directly at Knives.

"Do you really think that I would ever give my brother to those incompetent humans, now do you?"

She wished she hadn't.

She was absolutely terrified of delving into those cold blue depths, so foreign to her. Engulfing her.

"Heh..." The menacing chuckle vibrated throughout the transport shuttle. He held right hand up onto his face, covered his left eyes; and with his one exposed blue iris, he glowered darkly at her. "I've been keeping a close tab on your communication link to dear Mother Earth. It has been so for more than half a year, if you haven't realized it yet. The archive's systems are surprisingly easy to manipulate. And my, how well did it complied. Humans really don't know how to guard their information well."

He snickered lowly, then gradually louder and more sinister, his cruel laughter emanated throughout the transport ship.

Chronica shivered under sheer terror. 'I should have seen this!' she mulled over in her despair. Her grip on the cold floor surface was so tight, she could feel her nails tearing off the skin of her fingers as blood seeped down. She found herself not able to tear her eyes away from that cruel, cruel sapphire orb that was mocking her; making a fool of her._ 'I should have...!'_

She knew... She knew, deep in her torn soul, that she predicted this situation all along; but never had the audacity to acknowledge it...

To make the situation turn to her favor, she tried to trigger her mind-manipulating powers to work, but to no avail. 'He must have injected nano-suppressors along with the sedative--!' She struggle to stand, but the sedative ensured that she would not be able to move much of her body, least to stand up on her two feet. She winced when the laughter got louder by a few notches.

'That narcissist really does enjoy degrading me like this,' Chronica forlornly thought, feeling disgust not to him, but rather to _herself_, rose with the tone of his cackle.

As the laughter died out into low chuckles, he continued, "Hn. I _was_ pleasantly amazed to find out that this ship was previously called Namdryphe--" Chronica's head snapped up. Knives' smirk widened even more. "Oh? It rung a bell? Of course it would. This was your precious key battleship of your much-loved Earthen fleet. And as icing on the cake..."

"The zero-range combat artillery was never removed."

Now sporting a feral grin, he seemed even more delighted with the growing apprehension on Chronica's face. "I came to understand that to protect its valuable '_cargos'_, as those pathetic humans have dubbed us all along, this ship was equipped with the state-of-the-art weaponry, including the Thor Hammer. Even without Plants to power it up to its full potential, it can still pack quite a punch. I would _love_ to try it out..."

Her mind was blank. She had to do something to stop this maniac from taking over the ship, but that sole eye was pinning her down, rendering her body useless; unable to move.

The low tenor weighed down on her ears again, "You will never be able to get neither him, nor me. You were deemed to fail. Those ungrateful humans will never acknowledge the value of an Independent without a partner. You implied that yourself. Aside from being a tool to be exploited, when you fulfilled your function of being useful to them, they will deem you to be useless."

_Useless_.

"_Those who are useless are trash. And trash deserves nothing more than to be thrown away." _

Chronica quivered in her not-so-pleasing recollection. Ever since she was a small child, her instructors has planted those word into her consciousness, to a point where she absolutely despised being incompetent; even _hated_ things that are incompetent. Forever living up to the Central Government's expectations. Independents without partners are basically restricted from any missions, but she'd never accept that. She'd do anything to at least contribute something for the good of the Central Government. Thus she volunteered for this mission; a very important operation of resurrecting a very important figure in the history of human kind. One that is crucial to the development of human kind.

_Never wanted to be of no use._

"_Your current mission is to resurrect 'him', and transport the 'cargos' safely back to Earth. Put into effect whatever options you must –revive his brother, disregard the rules, make up stories, or lie as much as you may, it would not matter; as long as you fulfill this holy task assigned to you by the Council."_

One scornful voice silently plagued her thoughts.

"_You will never be able to get neither him, nor me."_

"_When you fulfilled your function of being useful to them, they will deem you to be useless."_

_Useless_.

Her soul shattered.

A warm droplet dripped onto the cold floor.

Another one accompanied it.

Knives' lone blue eye widened.

Before she realized it, a cold, yet warm finger was slowly tracing its way down her cheek; from the edge of her eyelashes to the dip of her chin, trailing its way along the damp path of a lost tear.

Knives was crouching in front of her. Touching her. Gazing at her with the warmest pair of pale sapphire orbs she'd ever seen.

As warm as Domina's...

She unconsciously leaned onto the finger.

"You poor soul," Knives mumbled. Either to himself or to her, Chronica would never know. "...always pushing yourself too hard. Always wanted to please those ignorant insects. Always alone..."

Not wanting to look at those serene azure depths as it was so full of merciless pity, she closed her eyes.

Only to feel the longed feeling of another's touch on her. To make it drive away her loneliness. Not caring if it belonged to a person that she should be despising.

How she has felt lonesome all this time...

His hand now cupping her crying face, his voice timbre, uncharacteristically kind, "Vash has taken a liking to you. He really wanted you to not leave us. To be here, with us, like you have always been. But it can never be. I really can't share him with anyone. Nor could I trust you. Not yet."

"Even though you are also a Free-Born, an Independent, you have always been dependent on the humans. Always needing their approval. Always need to prove to yourself that you can be of use to them. Always protecting them."

A sigh.

"Just like how my brother was."

A gentle wipe of a thumb just underneath her eye.

"A fool. Just like all of them."

A soft chuckle.

"I wonder if you could ever let go of your past, just like he did."

From where he touched her with his fingertips, memories –Knives' memories– came flooding ruthlessly gushing into her vision---

"_... nee, Knives..?"_

"_Yeah..?" _

_I stroked through the soft strands of his hair, calming him down. Vash was laid on his side on the withering flowers and dying lands, my lap as his pillow, finally calming down and letting me be by his side._

_No longer pushing me away._

"_... everything you told me... about the abuse a-and killings... the h-humans... put on Plants... on u-us... it's true, isn't it..?"_

_Vash's voice, punctuated with little sobs here and there, was layered with disbelief and grief._

"_Aaaa..." was my only answer._

_Vash's fingers were playing with a browning petal of geranium, as I looked on, my own fingers slowly skirting through his hair still._

_Vash opened his cracked lips, and he croaked out in sadness, "I remember... I swore to myself... that one day... I will ... save all of our kin... Promised... Rem... Tried to reason out... with _them_... Tried so much, for so long..."_

_He clenched tightly onto that lone petal, and then opened his palm. _

"_... I couldn't go on... like this... anymore..."_

_The dried petal was crushed; only a lump of powder left, drifting away little by little by the turbulent winds._

_Just like his dream _–_Rem's dream_–_ and his... _her_ ideal world, where humans and Plants could at last live together symbiotically, with respect of each other..._

_Now in ruins._

"_...no more... No more... would I tolerate them... No more... would I trust their... R-Rem's words... ever... ever... again..."_

_My other hand held onto his trembling one, wordlessly conveying to him that he could put his trust in me. He gripped onto my hand, like I was his only lifeline in his world of hurt and distress._

_Then, came the words I was waiting for._

"_I will forgive them no more."_

_A single, lone tear followed that sorrowful, but determined, declaration._

_The last one he would shed for humanity._

Her dreamlike state didn't last long.

The memories were suddenly cut off as the warm hand was replaced by cold air. A click, and her armlet –which she dimly recognized to be the one served as the main control unit of Namdryphe– was taken from her, and subtle thumps of rubber on steel slowly moving away from her.

Another click, and she heard his voice again, "Aaaah... This feels _muuuuch_ better. For the love of god that is Me, I am _never_ going to wear a suppressor. _Ever. _Not even if Vash _begged_ me to. Oi, Vash, can you hear me?"

A slight shrill, and another voice resounded throughout the small ship, "Loud and clear. I have disconnected the servers, and cleaned the transport shuttle's virtual memory; just like you instructed. Were you talking to yourself again? What is it about you and the god-and-me-begging-you thing?"

Knives only reply was a grunt.

Silence. And then, "...How is she..?"

Her eyes wavered as she opened them, stinging with unshed tears.

Knives spared her a lingering side-glance, messed up his slightly longer hair, which he kept adequately smart from Vash's insistence as of late, and nonchalantly said, "She'd live," then proceeded to walk his way out of the door.

An indignant huff. "You better not bully her."

"I didn't."

"I don't believe you."

And a sigh. "... Fine. Maybe just a little. Just a _little_, okay?"

Silence again. And another crackle of the speakers.

"...I'm sorry, Chronica-san."

She lifted her head, ever so slightly, at the mention of her name.

"For the better good, we had to let you go. But, remember that you were part of us. Of our family. And you still are. I have truly enjoyed the time we spent together. And so did Knives, even if he would never admit it."

"Stop speaking nonsense, Vash."

Chronica impassively stared at the retreating back of the partly-black-haired blond. As if feeling her eyes upon him, Knives glanced over his shoulder. Staring back at her; those eyes smoldering with incomprehensible emotions. When he was out of the transport pod, he turned around and leaned onto the entrance's outer panels, a small smile gracing his lips, those deep, azure depths locked with her emerald ones.

"I look forward to the day when you'd return to us."

The noises were getting more distant. Those eyes were slowly, slowly, blocked away from her view by the large metal door.

Until she could not see any light coming through the entrance. Not anymore.

She closed her eyes again. A fresh flow of tears cascaded down the curves of her cheeks.

_((00:00:00 : LIFT-OFF))_

The engines of the transport ship roared, and in a few moments later, she knew that she'd be lifted out of Namdryphe, into space, and into hyper-drive through the galaxy on its one-way road back to Earth.

She didn't care what will happen anymore.

_Oh, God..._

She understood... that after this, she could never turn back time.

_Please guide me through this pain..._

That she could never be the same, ever again...

----------------

_((Stardate Year 0034. May 7th. 15:06:38.))_

"_EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL BATTLE FLEETS! EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL BATTLE FLEETS!"_

"_THE SERAPH HAS MADE ITS WAY THROUGH FAFNER'S SECOND BARRIER! ATTENTION! THE SERAPH HAD MADE ITS WAY THROUGH FAFNER'S SECOND BARRIER, AND IS CURRENTLY HEADING STRAIGHT TO ALVIS' MAIN CONTROL CENTRE! PREPARE FOR COMBAT!"_

A figure, so much like a woman's, sat up from her previously half-sleeping state on her bunker-sized bed, wrapping a pastel-colored blanket over her body, groaning inwardly.

The sirens were stinging into her ears. The sounds of people rushing around all over the place and rumblings of powerful weaponry were reverberating in the cold and the ever lightly stuffy air; they gave her quite a headache.

Especially when she was contained in a Level-ZERO, Class-F solitary confinement, which has been absolutely quiet for the whole span of time she has been there.

"_You are found to be in suspicion for the first-degree crime of treachery and collaborating with the highly dangerous terrorist, Millions Knives. You are to be confined in the highest-security imprisonment, VSX-01, until further notice. You must again pledge your..."_

_Her eyes unseeing as they read through her punishments._

Thirteen years has passed by since that time.

She understood her predicament. Coming back empty-handed, without even a single byte of data in the virtual memory regarding the semi-collaborative research done by Knives and her about Vash, nor having 'the ever most important cargo of the century' Vash there with her, made her a suspect of treachery. Distrustful fingers were pointing at her, declaring that she was a spy and was going hand-in-hand with Knives' hypothetical campaign to overthrow the current Central Government. Thus she was put into an indefinite amount of time in surveillance in the highest-security penitentiary in the whole of human kind history; a prison-in-space most known throughout the galaxy,VSX-01, the first of its kind, which more commonly known by the moniker of _'Monte-Cristo'_, derived from an old human legend of a wrongly convicted man; a tale most has forgotten about.

All legends were rooted from true stories. Perhaps... she was experiencing what the man from that one legend has endured? As in, being condemned and imprisoned against one's own free will?

Even if they could not convict her of the crime they accuse of her doing for lack of evidence, the military, understanding the infinite power even _one_ Independent could generate, wasn't going to take any risks and let a 'hazard' like her roam free.

And all this time, she has served well for the prosperity of the human kind.

Such ignorant creatures, these mortals are...

Guess _he_ was right all along.

Many also have come forward to claim her innocence. That she was manipulated and/or being used by the devious and highly intelligent terrorist Plant. But if the one being judged wasn't denying the faults being bestowed upon her by the Military Magistrates, what can others do?

On the other hand, what was the difference between 'being used' by Knives, and 'being used' by the Central Government?

Acceptance, of course.

The brothers have, in their own way, has accepted her...

"_Remember that you were part of us. Of our family. And you still are."_

Family...

"_I look forward to the day when you'd return to us." _

A place to return to...

At last. The one thing she would never obtain from the humans she had looked upon to; the _acceptance_ she had sought for so long. It was so near, yet so far way...

All this time in confinement, she have thought of escaping, and at last returning to those cold, but open arms, accepting her as she was. She had to-- no, she _must_ return to where they are... But, she herself understood the level of safety measures being executed all and around her imprisonment. Even her powers were sealed off by the gear she was forced to wear –so much alike the one worn by a certain, special man she knew– and the suppressant medications added into her food. Thus, she decided to lay low and bide her time.

She had a taste of how _he_ felt when one was powerless to do _anything_--

"BOOOM--!!"

Her trail of thoughts derailed off completely when a huge explosion suddenly detonated through ceiling of her confinement.

Pieces of metal and plastic shattered everywhere. Some sharper ones even sliced through her suit and stabbed her from odd angles; mostly from above. She cringed and raised a thin ragged pillow above her head to protect herself from further injuries. Clouds of dust rained on her, making it hard for her to breathe and perceive what was currently happening to her surrounding

Another explosion, and she scarcely discerned, through the midst of dusts, an especially large chunk of debris was flying her way.

And she didn't have enough time to escape from it.

In a blink of an eye, the bulky metal lump unexpectedly fallen to diminutive pieces, and bounced onto her in the harmless sizes of the smallest pebbles. She covered her head with her arms, to keep the fragments from going into her eyes.

Only one person in the whole universe has the ability to cut through the impossibly resilient FT-109.N7 alloy.

Through the commotion and terrified screams from above and the cloud of dust enclosing her, she scarcely heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her.

A chuckle.

"I thought I'd find you here."

She stiffened.

That... that _voice_...

Little by little, her arms were lowered, exposing a pair of dull green orbs.

Looking straight into cold, azure eyes.

Which were gleaming with... mirth?

"Hey there. It's been some time."

Through the haze of dirt, she saw one very handsome young man with mismatched black-silver blond hair and beautiful cerulean orbs with a mesmerizing beauty spot under his right eye, seemingly even more striking in an immaculate custom-cut white military overall; an equally exquisite pale trench coat trailing him and waving dramatically with each of his steps. Elongated blades, seeming to be dancing around him; seeming to be protecting him from hostile shards by cutting them into miniscule powder, were shrinking into the folds of his left sleeve, and fading away from view; as if it was never there to begin with.

One man she has known all along to be Millions Knives.

And there was that smirk that she was longing to see for the longest time.

"It's been fun playing hide-and-seek with you for the last ten-odd years. But now, I—" Knives cleared his throat. "I mean, Vash, got bored and stated that he would no longer wait for you and told us to rescue the damsel-in-distress ourselves. Boy, wasn't he demanding. I already told him that I will not come to you since you haven't apologized for the food fight we had thirteen years, five months, twenty-one days, two hours, and forty-six-point-five-one seconds ago."

A brief flash of valued memories flickered in front of her eyes.

As he bantered, admittedly one-sided, Knives coolly waltzed his way to her, calmly shrugged his six-foot long coat off his shoulders, and draped it over and around hers. The brush of fingers on her shoulders, lingering a little longer than necessary, she noticed, shook her off her daydreaming state.

"However, he _is_ the Commander of the Seraph. His words are our command."

Holding out a gloved hand, as white-crisp as his outfit, to the still-stunned woman, his smirk deepened, and huskily added,

"Welcome to the Seraph's crew, Miss Chronica."

Chronica smiled. For the first time in thirteen years.

"Yes."

And she accepted that hand with her own.

The moment her hand touched his, both disappeared into thin air.

Not a moment too soon, the ceiling collapsed into the unoccupied enclosure, and the whole structure exploded.

Into nothingness.

----------------

"_SHHRRRKK-- EMERG --SRKK-- CY ---SRRKK-- THE SERAPH IS ----SRRRRKK---- WAY TO CEN --SRRRRRRKK--- GOVERM --SRRRRRRRRRRRKKKK-- UESTING MEDICA --SRKK-- ELP! I REPEA --SRKK--- REQU --SS--ST-- SRRRRRRRRRKKKKK-----"_

_Click._

A sigh. "Thanks. That transmission was too noisy. And non-informational."

A smirk. "Don't sweat it, Chief. I couldn't stand the noise either."

A stare. "..."

A frown. "You should rest more, Commander..."

A poker face. "There is no need to be overprotective. A little exercise is good for his body."

A door opening. "Even though The Doctor is right, if the decision was mine to make, I'd never in hell give you the permission to get up from that seat of yours."

An excited murmur. "Ah! Hello there, Second Chief! How was the rescue mission?"

Another smirk. "A complete success, I must say. Here, let me introduce to you all, the seventh and last member of the Seraph." A side-step. "Come in."

A nervous cough. "Compliments to all. My name is Chronica, ex-militaria of the Central Government Deep-Space Defense Force, Division: Intergalactic Space Armada, 'Pieces of Earth'. It's a great honor to be part of the--"

A hearty laugh. "There's no need to be so formal! We are all a family here! Loosen up!"

A half-smile. "He said it."

A discreet bow. "..."

A defensive glare. "..."

A sweet smile. "Welcome back, Chronica."

A superior grin. "The Seven Wings of Seraph have at last united. Now, we can begin with our true mission: the liberation of our kind and obliteration of the arrogant human species!"

A cheer.

A worried expression. "...Chronica? Is something wrong..?"

A gentle smile. "Liberation and obliteration. It sounds nice."

A smug smirk. "Of course it is."

Namdryphe soared gracefully through the darkness of space, into the predetermined path of independence and total destruction.

_The ticket to the future is always blank._

----------------

--------------------------------

_THE END?_

--------------------------------

----------------

**A/N**: _UGAAAAAAAAAAHHH...!!_ (?? What kind of cheer is this?)

YEEEEAAAAAH! XD At last I've managed to finish up the series! T-T _(sniffles)_ This feeling of accomplishment really is soooooo _REWARDING_--! TvT

...Not to mention that when I finished up the original draft (before sending it to be beta-ed) late at the night before one of my exams... _(The feeling of elation gone with a poof and is replaced with mounting apprehension.)_ I have done a bit of studying on the subject, but who knows what kind of questions the ever-so-good-natured-but-sneakily-evil lecturer would dish out on us (quite literally...). T-T (Extra Notes: I've gotten 62 for this paper. Wuuuuuu...)

So, how was the ending? Was it too rushed? Was it predictable? So-so? Or "OMG, what the _(beep!)_ did this _(beep!)_ing author did to my _(insert favorite character(s))_!???" Uhh...Eheh..._(sweats) _I, as well, believed that throughout this fic, I had just sliced these characters into small, incomprehensible bits, and pieced them back together into thingies that are basically alien(...) in nature. As I explain here:

**Knives** has mood-swings that swings a loooot better than a kid on a literal swing (?),

...which reminds me of the manga _TRIGUN_ (vol 3 ch 19 pg 231-243) where he delightedly(?) yelled at Vash for pointing a gun at him again and then moments later looked at Vash worriedly because, as I quote him, _"You've gotten more of them, haven't you? Scars..."_ unquote, then managed to have a VERY SERIOUS talk (mostly one-sided, of course) about calamities and all, and after that he made Vash blow a hole in a moon while maniacally hollering about power and destruction (...),

(and yeah, writing this lil' summary gave me quite a headache too... TvT )

Oh, and did anyone else other me noticed Knives' perverse(?) habit of putting his right hand over the left side of his face whenever he gives out his sermons on, well, important stuff..? _(sweats)_

...all in all, in the end of this fic, he successfully managed to drag Chronica and Vash into doing his evil(...) biddings (DU'UH. He _IS_ the ultimate manipulator of them all. XD);

**Chronica** became the broken and calm-before-the-typhoon Plant who finally cracked under the sheer pressure that sandwiched her between her responsibilities and her need of a place to truly call home;

And last-but-not-the-least, our own dear ol' **Vash** turned out to be the sweet and ever smiling dictator(?) of an Independent rebel/terrorist flotilla that Knives is very, _very_ proud of. (HOW? Ask Knives. He was the one who talked Vash into believing that humans are _EVIL_. :p)

Yup. Totally alien. TvT

A little retrospect on my part makes me want to strangle this fic and throttle it till it dies, then kill myself by jumping four floors from my room down to an honorable(?) death. Or maybe I should consider hara-kiri... Wait. I need to find a head-chopper for that. Too bloody. Naah. Me like being alive. :3

(So what the bloody _(beep!)_ was that bloody speech on the bloody suicide all about???)

Anyhoo, _**big thanks**_ to everyone who had supported me throughout this series, especially my beta, **Alaena Night**-san. Not only did she beta-ed almost the whole series, she even gave out great reviews at just about Every. Single. _Episode_! You're just the best, Alaena-san! _(glomps and huggles and squeeeeeeezes)_ Not forgetting my **reviewers**, some of who helped steered the way where this fic was goin (names of which will NEVER be disclosed, thank you), and my dear ol' **readers** that stick to the end of this crappy fic. Again, I really must thank you all. _(bows)_

... So seriously, tell me, what didcha think of the fic? Especially the ending..? X3 _(peeks at everyone expectantly)_

**PS**: _Was listening to the song '__**Michiyuki**__' from the anime 'Loveless' all the way through the last three-quarter of writing this last chappie. Somehow the supposedly-calming tempo inspired me into writing the cruel-and-then-suddenly-benign Knives, 'The Breaking of Chronica' and the ending involving the bombing and Seraph and... Well, you get the picture. X3_

_And FYI, I actually drew a black-and-white picture of the entire Seraph's crews minus Chronica late last year out of sheer boredom, oh-and-how it motivated me into writing this kinda ending! XD I'll put up a linkie to the piccie in my profile-ie when I finished with some touch-up-ies. See if you can make out who's who. :D _

_Thank you again to everyone!_


End file.
